


Hell Froze Over

by Anika_Ann



Series: Melting Hearts [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst, Everyone lives, Everything is back to normal, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Reader-Insert, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Team as Family, That Much Is Implied, because I said so, but Boy They Remember Everything, how do i tag without spoilers, when I Want to Intrigue You At the Same Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-05 10:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anika_Ann/pseuds/Anika_Ann
Summary: There’s a new enhanced on the scene, showing up at places of the Avengers’ fights and sometimes even intervening. She’s fast. Really, really fast. And Wanda can’t read her mind.So far, she has been helping. But surely it’s only a matter of time before she will switch sides. You couldn’t have that.-“Hate to say it, but things could have got ugly without the Rush-girl rushing in.”“Tony, your nicknames are getting more ridiculous with each try.”“I can go back to naming you if you want… Popsicle.”“Go to hell, Metalbrain.”





	1. The good (and fast) Samaritan

**Author's Note:**

> In the words of a good friend: Let’s melt some more hearts. For the last time. Final part of the series. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy.

Aliens. Why was it always aliens?

Extremely annoying ones on top of that.

They had fucking tentacles – or multiple limbs, whatever they called it. The thing was, they had four ‘arms’, which made them incredibly handful, pun definitely intended. And what was making it worse? Once you cut off one limb, two grew in its place.

More than once during the fight, in which New Yorkers were being terrorized again, you wondered if these particular creatures, aka Tentacles, had been on Earth before, possibly meeting Hydra. You couldn’t imagine the Nazis’ organization getting the inspiration for their motto anywhere else.

Apparently, they loved going after Captain America too. Then again, they generally didn’t seem to be fond of the group of superhumans standing in their way of invading this planet.

Pinning two Tantacles to a wall by spray of thick icicles, you allowed yourself to breathe in after a long time. If you were being honest, you wouldn’t mind if Tentacles were the ones whose population would stay with the half of them erased from existence by Thanos. Seriously. They were obviously dickheads.

Taking few more breaths, indulging the feeling of having time to do so, you scanned your surroundings; the fight was definitely going your way, the aliens falling one after another, but the damage to the area was huge. It was a miracle no building had collapsed yet, but you had a hunch it wouldn’t take long. Wanda was helping with removing the civilians out of the harm’s way with her mental powers, but several blocks had been hit. You hadn’t had your eyes on her for a while now.

Hearing a roar by your right, you were immediately back to the highest alert. Tentacle no.39 was not coming your way though; it went after Natasha. You sent an icicle right through the creature’s belly, killing it at instant. Nat just nodded your way and threw herself back into the fight. You did the same.

Your whole body hurt, burning with exhaustion, but you knew you had to keep going. Even when a warning pinch bit the base of your spine; you were getting really fed up with this whole fail-safe trigger, because in moments like this, you simply couldn’t allow yourself to stop fighting in order to be fine. You were supposed to push yourself to your very limits, because lives were at stake.

Unfortunately, you didn’t have a choice.

You slowed down a little, trying to stay closer to Steve who was the nearest. He must have caught up on you pulling back, because he stated fighting with more ferocity. You noticed he didn’t have his helmet anymore and it made you bite the bullet and throwing yourself back into the fight despite knowing the pain would only grow with time and at point, it would paralyze you. But Steve had lost his fucking helmet again and he had the armour for reason goddammit!

And then the battle was over. Car alarms sounded all around you, smoke rising to the sky, flames licking anything they reached; you did your best to put the fire out. It was why you didn’t notice it at first – the loud creak of metal tens feet away, but then the concrete started screaming, just like the people.

You snapped your head that way, only to see a restaurant collapsing onto itself.

With people still in it.

You acted on instinct, sending the thickest layer of ice to slow down the falling debris, seeing a flush of red energy heading the same way. You felt the nudge of the weight at your and Wanda’s defence.

And the very same moment, you could also see that in a blink, there were no people underneath it.

They were gone; precisely, several feet nearby, staring as incredulously as you were. Feeling unbearable sting in your back, you allowed yourself let go, Wanda following your example.

Unlike the civilians, you knew all too well what happened. But your eyelids felt too heavy and you were too tired to be annoyed; in fact, you were grateful, because you didn’t know how long you would keep the barrier. You mentally thanked the girl who got all the people out in what seemed like a split second.

Dark spots danced in front of your eyes, your knees getting wobbly. The world threated to sway out of its place and you knew you were about to fold like a house of cards, only to wake up seconds later. It wouldn’t be the first time.

But you didn’t hit the ground. Strong arms enwrapped you securely, pulling you to your Captain’s chest, supporting you as much as you needed. You closed your eyes and breathed through the dizziness.

“Hey, it’s okay, I got you. It’s over, you can rest. But stay with me, alright?” Steve’s voice reached you from a terrible distance, slowly getting closer as you were gradually improving. The vibrations of his words caressed your own torso and you blinked your eyes open. “There you go, Snowflake. Let’s wrap it up here, okay?”

You just nodded, looking up to his face gratefully. He gave you a small smile in acknowledgement of your wordless ‘thank you for not letting me fall’.

“She was here again,” you mumbled and Steve grimaced as he cautiously let you off his embrace.

“Yeah, I know.”

\---

You all entered the conference room slowly, some of you barely standing on your feet. It was a miracle you didn’t have to drag each other in here. After a long time of looking down your nose at it, you enthusiastically reached for the energizing drink specially designed for you just like everyone else

While no one had suffered a serious injury – serious on the Avengers’ scale, things like the cut on Steve’s forehead didn’t count –, you were all ready to just have a shower and go to bed. But no. Being an Avenger meant you couldn’t. It meant that if the work wasn’t finished, you couldn’t get rest.

You dropped into the comfy chair, Steve’s body making a muffled thud as he chose the one next to you. If even Captain America was dead on his feet, things were _bad_.

You pushed yourself up, sitting up straight to inspect the gash on his smooth skin. It was already healing and you knew he had it treated (by you, at least), but the drying bloody line on his head just wouldn’t let you relax.

Your fingertips carefully brushed alongside it, wary of not applying any pressure. Steve smiled at you faintly.

“Snowflake, it’s okay.”

His hand caught your wrist tenderly, pulling it away.

“How did you manage to get it anyway? How did you lose your helmet again?”

He bit his lip and looked almost apologetically. You frowned. “Steve-“

“He was getting too close to-- to them, alright? I admit I didn’t quite see the other three coming-“

You gritted your teeth, torn between admiring his heroics as he defended the civilians and clipping round his ear for having a tunnel vision and not looking around properly before jumping to the rescue. In the end, you just huffed, letting your hand slip from his grasp.

You carefully eyed the rest of the team, glad you found Wanda mothering Vision and Bruce checking Natasha once again, while Tony, Sam and Clint were on the phone. It put a smile on your face as you saw Bucky fumbling with his phone as well – you knew he had started seeing a woman from accounting here and now he was probably wondering if he should let her know he was fine.

“We make a good team. Taking minor risks is worth it,” Steve whispered, straightening in his chair in favour to kiss your forehead. You closed your eyes contentedly at the pure and innocent display of affection.

When his lips lingered, his hand brushing your jaw and he inhaled the smell of your shampoo – if there was any smell left after the fight and debris flying around –, his breath faltering, a realization dawned to you.

He hadn’t lost his helmet when defending some civilians, had he?

He wouldn’t let himself to be distracted enough to be jumped when protecting civilians. Never. He only lost his focus when protecting people he loved. Mainly the ones he had lost before; if he could help it, his gaze never left you on the battlefield, simply too scared you would disappear in a blink of an eye. He might be getting less anxious about it lately, but it was always in the back of his mind; having your loved ones wiped off by a snap of fingers and seeing them fall to ashes did that to a person, not that you would know.

But Steve did. He saw it happen to you, Bucky, Sam…. The thought almost brought tears into your eyes.

“Thank you for saving me,” you whispered, hearing his breath hitch. You opened your eyes, only to see his resigned ones as he guesses you figured out the truth.

“No ‘ _you idiot_ ’, huh?”

“No. Not this time. I can see you’re fine. You’re allowed to look out for me as long as you walk away relatively unharmed.”

“Lucky me,” he murmured and kissed you lightly on your lips, tasting after the sickeningly sweet energy drink. You couldn’t say you minded.

“I love you, Steve. I care for you too. Nothing wrong with that. Thank you.”

His eyes got their vivid spark back, the corners of his lips rising inconspicuously. “Always. And I love you too.”

“You two are sickening,” Bucky noted close to your ear and you honest to god yelped, almost falling off of your chair.

Bucky receded with silent laugh and while you clutched at your chest, your heart too wild in your ribcage, you noticed Steve rolled his eyes at his friend fondly.

“Lefty here has a point,” Tony hummed, making you huff and turn to the big screen as it lit up with news feed. There were already so many images and videos on the internet that it was scary. Why people hunted down good shots instead of running away?

Unsurprisingly, Tony froze the frame in which a blur of dark blue could be seen. Hint: it was neither you nor Steve in his stealth suit.

No. It was the enhanced girl. The fast one. The one you knew shit about.

“Hate to say it, but things could have got ugly without the Rush-girl rushing in,” Tony announced and you scoffed, mainly because you felt like he was nudging your conscience.

It felt like he was blaming you, seeing you wouldn’t have been able to hold the falling debris for long enough. You were sure Tony _wouldn’t_ blame you, since he knew all too well you simply couldn’t beat it; after all he had been the one to install your fail-safe, preventing you hurting yourself. But you also knew he didn’t like the thought of anyone else getting hurt because of either.

The thing was it always went like this with this enhanced girl. She would show up, help the Avengers and puff, she was gone. No trace. Except the people she saved. The ones you might have failed to save unless she had come.

You forced yourself to drift away from the dark thoughts.

“Tony, your nicknames are getting more ridiculous with each try.”

“I can go back to naming you if you want… Popsicle. I bet Cap here got the memo and he loves to lick and s-”

“Stark!” Steve lashed out at him, his cheeks getting an unhealthy shade of red. You choked on your own spit.

You were pretty happy with Tony somewhat reconciling with Steve (and you and others), okay, but his jokes were sometimes too much. He really was pushing it.

“Go to hell, Metalbrain,” you muttered under your breath.

“Cute blush you have here, guys. I hit the nail on the head right?”

“Tony!” you called out, not less horrified than before.

“Trust the advice of the elder – biologically older anyway. Hate to break it to you, but that’s not how you make a kid. Then again maybe that’s the point-“

“Tony, shut your metal mouth or I swear to god I will tell Pepper you’re being a pervert.”

A look of pure horror appeared on his face and you couldn’t help but smile smugly. This always worked.

The thing was Tony would know how to get a girl pregnant; Pepper Potts lived to tell the tale. She was in her twenty-seventh week, after all; and her hormones were misbehaving. _Big time_. Her emotions were like on a roller-coaster lately and no one had wanted to be on her bad side even before, let alone now.

Needless to mention Pepper Potts was a strong woman, capable of handling herself, being in control. She wasn’t quite in control of herself now and what was even worse, she always had been the more rational part of the Stark and Potts-Stark duo, keeping Tony’s impulsiveness in check. Once again, not now. And it was driving her insane.

So yeah, threatening Tony with snitching him to Pepper always worked these days. It was even mean of you. Then again, Tony _was_ being extremely pervert today, venting his frustration on you and you did not like it at all.

“Ouch. Low blow, Popsicle, low blow. See what I did there with the _blow_ \- never mind, I have a place to be. Bye, kids!”

Tony took his abrupt escape, disappearing from the room, and you sighed heavily. You massaged the bridge of your nose, feeling your face burning with embarrassment. The rest of the team pretended not to watch you highly amused.

“He’s an actual infant— no, he’s worse,” you stated, your voice a little too high-pitched.

“That’s hardly any news. Now, can we pay attention to the actual problem?” Natasha interjected, switching back to professional mood.

“Sure. Let’s talk more about the Rush-girl,” Clint hummed, smirk on his lips.

A collective groan was the answer, but you started working.

  


  



	2. The biggest lead

You were five minutes in digging into all the locations the _Rush-girl_ had showed up at, when a pang sounded in the room. You looked up at the screen curiously, peripherally seeing the others doing the same.

Your eyes widened as another dot appeared on the map. The strangest thing was that while all other locations were marked red, this one was marked blue.

“The hell…?” Clint questioned, sounding as confused as the rest of you.

The door into the conference room flew open, revealing no one but Tony again.

“Hello, my friends.”

“I thought you had a place to be,” Sam noted sarcastically, his gaze returning to the screen again.

Tony scoffed. “I did. Now I have to be _here_ for my big reveal.”

“Which is?” you asked, slightly annoyed. Okay, more than slightly. One look towards Steve told you he felt the same; Tony was keeping secrets. Again. That was never good.

“Avengers, I present you – our Rush-girl’s current position!” Tony called out ceremonially, grinning.

Your heart skipped a beat. Her… what? How? How could he possibly-?

“What do you mean?” Steve demanded, rising from his chair.

“What I said, Rogers. I put a tracker on her. It was supposed to activate after an hour, so she wouldn’t notice it immediately. It’s an hour, so here we go.”

He emphasized the last sentence with a clap of his hand, gesturing towards the map.

The room fell silent apart from the quiet beeping, still announcing the address. Everyone was staring, clearly too confused and too sceptical to speak up.

To be honest, you were sceptical too. The girl had been on your radar for three weeks and just now, Tony miraculously placed a tracker on her? Just like that? What kind of a deal with the devil had he made? And you meant the actual Devil not Matt, you had handled that one – not that Matt had been any help in this particular case. His ears actually hurt when he once hurt the supersonic speed.

Tony watched you back, his eyebrow raised cockily. You scanned the room, seeing no one was about to break the silence. You sighed. It seemed you were about to be the one to humour the billionaire.

Just at that thought, you sighed again and rolled your eyes. Tony’s face lit up in response as he recognized your breaking point.

“Alright, genius. How did you place a tra-“

“I’m so glad you asked!” he cheered like a freaking five-year-old and approached the screen rapidly, only to start a new hologram next to it. Some numbers, diagrams and schemes appeared, not hinting you at all what he was about to tell you.

Great.

“So, as you probably know, I tried to bug her before.” Collective eye-roll, not one verbal answer. “But. Our Speedy was just too fast, escaping.”

“Right. You could almost say she was _rushing_ away,” Clint noted, earning a glare from Natasha. Tony snickered and held out a hand for a high-five. Clint happily obliged.

“Go on,” Bucky offered with a sigh. “How did you manage to match her speed?”

Tony grinned. “That’s it. I didn’t. I just figured that even a hummingbird like herself had to stop at some point.”

“Alright, this is a good one, I give you that,” Natasha noted and you snorted. She wasn’t wrong.

“Okay. And?” Steve urged, shooting you a betrayed look for falling for Tony’s jokes. Ever the serious one.

“And the key was to figure out _when_ that would happen. Well, kinda. I never knew and never will, because miss Mind-reader over here is useless with this chic.”

Wanda narrowed her eyes, while Vision gently placed a hand on her shoulder, his glare throwing daggers.

“Tony-“

“No, it’s alright, he’s not wrong. She’s just blocking me and I should be able to read her, but I’m… not.”

“Anyway. Long story short, I created a tiny bot to be drawn to her kinetic energy, so it followed her and the moment she stopped, it just, mwah-“ he accompanied the smacking sound with his hands connecting, interlacing his fingers. “Forever together.”

“Boom! Let’s get her then,” Sam cheered, jumping to his feet – only to be stop by Tony’s patronizing smile and gesture to sit down again.

“Not you, Icarus. You need to work at your interpersonal skills still.”

“Yeah, leave it to the professionals-“

“You’re not coming either, Clint.”

“Why not? I’m a great interpersonal-- person.”

You couldn’t help it; the corners of your lips twitched upright.

A snap of fingers echoed in the room and everyone turned to Bruce, whose face was shining with excitement. “You want Frosty to go.”

“Bingo!”

You gulped, your heart beating your way out of your chest. “What? Why me?”

“Because, Popsicle, you’re cold.”

“No, I’m not!” you protested, jumping to your feet. You weren’t— you weren’t cold! Hell, Natasha teased you sometimes you couldn’t be a spy like her, because you just didn’t have the ability to be mean; unless someone was threatening your family. “I’m nice! You know what they say! Hands cold, heart of…—oh. Not that kind of cold.”

Well, that made more sense. He was talking about your powers, because…. Why were you the person for the job again?

“Yeah. Guess what – the particles of her body are moving fast, creating a lot of heat, and heat can only be stopped by-“

“Yeah, I get it, I’m not that stupid, okay…” you hummed, pouting as you had realized why only after few words.

You were glad you were the one trusted with this, but simultaneously it felt like you were the only option. And not having another option lead to bad decisions. Like trusting you with this. _You_. Apparently not the whole team.

You bit your lip as you felt everyone’s eyes on you. “Please, tell me someone’s coming with me.”

“Sure thing, doll. I’ll go,” Bucky shrugged before Steve could even say a word. You blinked in surprise, shooting Tony a questioning gaze. He was the one coming up with the idea, after all. You were curious about what his plan was, even when Steve was usually the one running the op.

“Really, Buck?” your fearless fiancé complained. You automatically reached out and his hand found yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

_You’re not alone._

_I believe in you._

You felt calmer at instant, a small smile spreading on your lips as you turned to him, meeting his warm blue eyes. You smiled a little wider when you felt his thumb run over the back of your hand.

Tony cleared his throat, making you return the attention to him. He was watching you with raised eyebrows, but he didn’t fool you – you could see the content spark in his eyes, because in deep, he was simply happy for you.

“Are you done gazing into each other’s eyes? Because you have a stray Rush-girl to catch.”

The weight falling off of your shoulders when learning Steve was the one coming with you had to be heard in Jersey at least.

“Hey! Why is he coming and not me?” Natasha complained with a teasing note and Tony actually rolled his eyes, seemingly annoyed.

“I would go instead, but people still seem to have a crush on our dear Captain, despite his time as a fugitive. He’s coming to do the PR part. I heard he’s giving good spontaneous speeches, the disappointed dad look and all that.”

“Well, he’s not wrong about that,” Bucky noted and Tony clapped his hands.

“Come on. No time to waste. We won’t wait seventy years for you to-“

“Snowflake, would you be so kind to freeze him mouth?” Steve pleaded, but tugged at your hand gently so you would be on your way.

“Oh why? Does she ever kiss you to freeze yours? Are you into Ice-play?”

Your skin cringed at Tony poking your love-life again; Steve’s grip grew stronger too, especially when he could hear Bucky, Clint and Sam snicker, while Vision just asked what kind of game that was.

“Anthony Stark, I swear to God-“ you started, but Steve just dragged you away. You breathed out slowly as the door clicked behind you. You glanced at Steve’s face, only to see the tips of his ears pink. Aww, he was blushing. That almost made the teasing worth it. You nudged Steve’s side tenderly. “Are you?”

“What?” he yelped, faltering in his steps.

You gasped as his cheeks turned red as well. _No way._ “You are?!”

Really? After seventy years of being stuck in the ice…? And how had you not figured that one out before? You had icy powers for god’s sake!

“Now’s really not the time-“

You grabbed the strap on his right shoulder, pulling him behind the corner, meeting his lips. He drew in a startled breath, but slowly melted into the kiss, allowing himself a moment of relaxation before jumping into another mission.

You carefully let a little coldness in, just a pinch of chill between your lips. His breath hitched, sending your heart racing. _Oh boy._

“Don’t-“ he warned you silently, squeezing your hip. You fingertips tingled at the order. You smiled against his mouth, but stopped. You _did_ have a mission, after all.

“We are exploring this,” you promised as you hid your head in the crook of his neck. Feeling brave, you placed a soft cold kiss there too. Goosebumps erupted on his skin immediately, but you had a hunch that there was more to that reaction, especially when he grunted in response. “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.”

“I cannot believe you became such a tease.”

He kissed your temple, running his hand over your side, his fingers tickling you. You giggled and tried to escape the torture.

“Don’t— good to know we know each other’s soft spot now, I guess.”

As you retreated completely, you were met with his tender smile, his eyes watching you with so much affection you just didn’t feel like you could contain it. God, you were such a lucky woman.

He spent another precious moment caressing your cheek. “I would think you know my soft spot for a long time, Snowflake.”

You shifted a bit, pressing a kiss to his fingertips, before you returned your gaze to his eyes, letting yourself drown. “As you know mine.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is still fluffy and sweet as cotton candy, but… maybe you should stash it somewhere for the rainy days. Just saying ;)


	3. The Rush-girl

Learning that the enhanced girl was not hiding in a warehouse was a terrific surprise and a pleasant change. Planning on descending to the attic of an old church near Saint Brigit’s, using ropes and tackles, you headed to the nearby building as inconspicuously as possible.

It helped that the darkness fell on the city, hiding at least a bit of your distinctive looks; you didn’t want to change, mostly because you needed to represent. You had talked about the mysterious girl several times and come to conclusion she wanted to catch Avengers’ attention. So, the Avengers coming to her it was.

You wordlessly watched Steve as he tackled the stripes around you wrists to make sure you wouldn’t fall even when letting go of the bar. When he met your curious gaze, he gave you a reassuring smile.

“Better safe than sorry.”

“Will you have safety straps too?” you questioned, not unkindly. His face darkened in response.

“Have I almost fainted on the battlefield today?”

You opened your mouth uselessly and closed it again, silence falling between the two of you for several moments. Your heart swelled and ached at the same time. You adored Steve, but he was… being a bit overprotective now. To be fair, you didn’t want to become a splat on a pavement either, so you didn’t call him out on it.

You swallowed a snarky response – the one scolding him for babying you ,– kissing the corner of his mouth instead. “I’m fine now, you know.”

His hands fell on your hips, turning you 180 degrees so you would face the open space between the two buildings.

“You should know by now that it’s not about me not trusting you. I just rather not be taking any necessary risks,” he whispered to your ear. Your chest warmed at the promise spoken in his voice.

“Then wear your helmet,” you hummed back sweetly, making him cackle.

You took a deep breath. _Alright, let’s do this._

“Fair enough. Be careful, I’m right behind you.”

You pushed your legs, jumping off the window, trying to ignore the leap your stomach made as the thick rope slacked a little under your weight. This you would never get used to.

The ride was almost too short, but you definitely didn’t complain. Your feet soon hit the surface of the flat part of the roof, running on their own with the momentum. You released a shaky breath, feeling the adrenalin pulsing in your veins.

Well, that was the easy part. You unbuckled the safety straps, rolling your wrists, turning to check if Steve was on his way already. He wasn’t, probably wanting to be sure he wouldn’t slam your body down if he caught up with you while you were still on the rope.

Ever the gentleman.

Deciding to start closer observation on your own – mostly because you were afraid you would be spotted before making a single move –, you made your way slowly and discreetly to the attic, using a small window instead of the door, simply because you could. Steve would never fit into it, because _broad shoulders_ , but you easily slipped in, soundlessly landing in the abandoned sanctuary.

The space was poorly lit with a few candles, giving it an aura of mystery and a holy place. Several sculptures of angels watched you with disapproval and you crossed your heart in apology; this was your first visit to a church in more like ten years. It would be a ridiculous gesture, wasting a precious time, but the row of sculptures actually provided a good hideout, dividing the smaller space from the main room, so you figured you were fine.

You glanced over the stone. What you assumed was your girl was dressed in a hoodie and jeans, curling onto herself, occasionally rubbing her hands, breathing on them in attempt to warm them up. You could see a bit of her blond hair sticking from under the hood, swinging as she paced back and forth. She was about your height, rather thin, but with her baggy clothes, it was hard to tell – she had to have some muscle under after all and you wouldn’t want to underestimate her.

Except… maybe it was the abandoned place, maybe it was her clothes, but… the sight of her actually caused your throat tighten in sympathy. Who the hell lived in an old church? Alone? With barely a bag of clothing?

It made you want to drop your ready-to-fight mode at instant. All alarm bells in your head was set off with that desire, warning you, but you couldn’t help yourself. Not wasting another minute, you made your way to her as you faced her back, crouching when she turned to a near window.

Luckily for you, she was so focused on the task of warming herself up and staring at the floor that she didn’t notice you in the reflexion. With your heart hammering against your ribcage, you exhaled soundlessly, taking another step to her, still lowered.

You clenched your jaw when the old floor betrayed you and creaked under your feet.

“Oh crap!” she cursed and looked up to see you in the window.

Your hands immediately flied up on instinct, ready to strike. She spun on her heels incredibly fast, her wide eyes watching you in horror.

The look was so disarming for you that if she would have tried to kill you, you wouldn’t be prepared to defend yourself.

She was _scared of you._

“Please, I mean no harm,” you promised, lowering your hands a little, which was something Steve would no doubt scold you for later.

The girl just stared at you in shock, not even breathing. She looked like a deer caught in headlights– no, she actually looked like a _baby_ _deer_ in headlights, her alarmed gaze taking you in. You didn’t quite blame her, you had to admit your costume was a bit much for someone who wasn’t used to it, even if it was just the tactical cat-suit in a different colour… and the eye-mask.  Then again, this wasn’t the first time she had seen you.

This up close, you could tell her whole body was shivering as if she was so cold she wasn’t able to stop it and she curled up into herself further. She looked so weak and feeble and _innocent_ that you couldn’t but let your hands fall to your sides completely. Your heart clenched at the sight of her, so vulnerable, her eyes turning glassy.

 _This_ was the girl who had been popping up at the war zones? How?

“I promise I won’t hurt you,” you whispered softly and the girl honest to god sobbed, her palm quickly muffling the sound.

“Goddammit! I told you to wa-“ Steve stormed into the room with his shield ready to be thrown, his words dying in his throat when he saw the blond girl’s state and your palm against him in silent plea not to attack.

You met his eyes, seeing surprise in them – you could only imagine how much compassion he read in yours.

The unstoppable shivering… it brought memories. Memories of your own body almost freezing and no treatment helping. What if that was what the girl needed? Your help? Well, the Avengers’ help? The scientific team’s help? Her, showing up at places where the Avengers had…

Okay, now you were making up things, but the familiarity-

“Hi,” Steve greeted the girl, snapping you from your trance. Clearly, he had adjusted to your play. Except you had no play, acting on instinct, but he didn’t need to know that. He walked to your side slowly, lowering the shield a bit, attempting not to scare the girl off; but to have you in his reach if she would attack without a warning. “I’m Steve-“

“I kn-n-now who y-y-you are-re,” she let out between the series of clatters of her teeth. “B-both.”

Steve forced a tiny smile to his lips. “Good. We’re not here to hurt you, we only want to talk.”

The situation got even more familiar vibe with his words, with his _voice_ , the sweet soothing tone he had used when he had first encountered you.

You were watching the girl, trying to figure out what effect Steve had on her. Her body language was hard to read, but her face was incredibly open. Also, the hand over her mouth was nearly turning blue.

You gasped when you noticed that.

“Oh my god,” you breathed out, crossing the distance between you without your feet consulting with your brain. “You’re freezing.”

Before you knew it, the girl was on you, catching you completely off guard. Her arms locked around your form and just a fraction of second before you could knock her off you, you realized that she… she was hugging you.

 _Hugging you_.

You stood frozen on spot, letting her shivering body press against yours, her trembling arms tightly wrapped around you. You only managed to blink.

“I kn-n-now y-you wou-wouldn’t-t hu-hurt m-m-me.”

You honestly couldn’t tell anymore whether it was her teeth clattering or the sobs what made her talk so disjointed.

“What the— _what the hell?”_

“Uhm…” you hummed, still not quite able to form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence. You left Steve’s question without a reply.

“P-pret-tier in p-p-pers-son…”

You could imagine quite vividly Steve gaping at the statement. You blinked again, wondering whether the girl was referring to you or Steve.

Probably Steve.

“Okay. Uhm… would you let us take you in? Just to talk,” you reminded her Steve’s promise as you felt her stiffen – barely, she was still shaking was too much. “We have lots of blankets and heaters.”

Her grip didn’t loosen in the slightest, but after few more moments you could feel her nod against your shoulder.

\---

“So… are we gonna talk about it?” Steve’s voice disturbed your absolutely inappropriate staring at the girl who had introduced herself as Katie and was now being babysat by Clint.

She had two thick blankets over her shoulders, a mug of chocolate in her hand, and she was sitting at the lab under Stark Tower. You couldn’t take your eyes off her, watching her every move.

She had managed to give a smile to Clint when he had handed her the chocolate you had prepared. There was something painfully familiar about her and more than anything, you were getting sure she had gained her powers in a very similar way you had. Even when her ability seemed to be superspeed, you were recognizing the symptoms you had suffered after the transformation – the symptoms you had always had, but had got so much worse after the ‘treatment’. Tony and Bruce had helped you at that time, which was one of the reasons why she was in the lab now.

“You mean the way she jumped me?” you hummed absently, noticing that Katie’s eyes kept staring at the one-way mirror you were behind.

You had no idea why the girl had showed you affection – why she would even felt something towards you. Was it admiration? Was it the fact you had icy powers and she had troubles with thermoregulation? Or was simply a need for a physical contact with another human being and you being the closest in her reach at the time?

“That too.”

You eyed Steve as he crossed his arms on his chest, examining the girl with a frown before he looked at you, his eyes burning with supressed anger. And here it came…

“But mostly about the fact you waltzed in alone _and_ completely forgot about any safe distance, just standing there, ready to let her attack you. You _know_ how fast— _dammit_ , Snowflake!”

You licked you lips, feeling the girl’s gaze burning through you, even though you knew it was impossible for her to see you. You forced yourself to face Steve completely.

“She was scared, Steve.”

“You didn’t know that coming in, you didn’t wait for me-”

“No,” you admitted openly. “No, I didn’t. It was a stupid move. But I don’t regret it. And after… I could have been wrong, but luckily, I wasn’t. I… Steve, she reminds me of myself _so much._ The trembling, the fear in her eyes… I think she was lost and that’s why she kept showing up. She needed our help.”

Steve’s features softened at your confession. He sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping, his arms releasing the tension and wrapping around you instead. You smiled into his chest contentedly as he rested his chin on the top of your head.

“You’re too good,” he whispered, kissing your hair and you smiled wider.

“That coming from you…”

He chuckled, retreating only to take your face into his palms, cradling gently. His eyes roamed your features, tired smile playing on his lips.

You didn’t think you would ever get used to the way he was looking at you – the bluest eyes you had ever seen, so deep and as beautiful as his soul. His gaze was intense, staring at the bottom of your own soul, and the twinkle in his orbits suggested how much he loved what he was seeing. It was moving you to tears.

“I love you. I’m sorry I scared you.”

His lips met yours in a feather-like light touch.

“ ‘kay. Don’t make it a rule, alright? You can make up for it later, when we deal with her.”

Your eyebrows shot up unwittingly and you chuckled at the blunt suggestion “Is that so, Captain?”

He hummed approvingly, kissing you again, this time lingering; a promise of what would come if you solved the little blond problem you had on your hands.

“Alright. I will. Now let’s go, so we don’t keep her _and_ you waiting.”

You entered the room the moment Bruce was taking the last vial of blood from her. A third one. Katie’s head immediately shot up to you, a twinkle appearing in her eyes.

“Hi!”

You frowned at the scientist, ignoring her for a sec. “Is that a good idea? Taking her blood? I mean, she was hypothermic, right?”

“I’m gonna be okay. I’m sure they’ll take good care of me,” she reassured you, her eyes following your every movement as you walked closer.

“Yeah, no kidding,” you murmured under your breath and Steve gently caressed your arm.

“Well, now that you’re here, maybe Katie could tell us her last name,” Clint noted, giving her a pointed look. The girl immediately lowered her gaze.

“I can’t. It would… it’s too dangerous. You should have never got to me.”

Steve tilted his head to side.

“Then why did you keep showing up where we did? If you didn’t want our attention?”

Her gaze flickered to him, quickly falling down again. “I wanted to help. And… and I wanted to see you.”

“Who’s ‘you’?” Clint asked, his tone still remaining gentle.

Katie shook her head. “I can’t.”

You licked you lips. Well, that wasn’t much to go on. “Okay. So what can you tell us? I don’t know… uhm, maybe about your powers? Or the cold? I noticed your hand turning almost blue from it.”

“I… it never happened before,” she explained, obviously embarrassed.

“And your powers? You’re really fast,” Steve noted and you saw his arm twitch as if he wanted to cross them on his chest again – it made him look intimidating, but then it was as if he realized she didn’t need that. You couldn’t help but smile a little. This girl was getting under his skin too.

“I… that’s true. Partly.”

“Partly?” you blurted out. “So there’s more?”

She bit her lip, nervously glancing Bruce’s direction as he returned to the room from where he placed the samples to analyse and sat behind a computer to wait for the results.

“It’s okay. Your secret will be safe with us.”

“I know,” she whispered, glancing into Steve’s eyes with surprising confidence at those words. “But… I’m not sure how much I am allowed to say.”

“Allowed?”

“It’s… like _really_ complicated.”

Her gaze locked with yours again. You would swear her eyes turned glassy. You throat went tight – there were so many unspoken feelings, mingling one with another, that you couldn’t but believe her. You tried to clear your throat.

“Who knows about your abilities?” Clint prodded slightly and the girl gulped.

“Family. Extended.”

“Meaning?”

“My dad and… aunts and uncles. Sort of.”

Clint ran his hand down his face, eyeing you, Steve and Bruce. “Okay. So, to sum it up. You have abilities, of which one is being really fast, you can’t tell us your last name, and you have uncle-ish and aunt-ish people. And you were playing hero while having troubles with your abilities to… see some of the Avengers.”

“I don’t have problems! I swear this was the first time!”

“Hey, hey! It’s okay!” you stepped in immediately, seeing how wounded she was by that accusation. “No one is saying you’re not in control of your powers.”

“Thank you,” she said in earnest, her expression endlessly grateful as you caught her gaze. Your heart ached a little. She seemed so lost.

“Alright. So… what do we do now?”

“Now, we wait,” Bruce said simply and you exchanged a wordless conversation with Steve.

Yeah, that was exactly what you did not want to hear. Could you at least get some rest during the wait?

Of course, the answer was no.

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you glimpsed a tiny Cloak and Dagger in this chapter, you were not wrong ;)
> 
> Not sure when next chapter will arrive, might take a while...
> 
> Random side note: Binge-watched Plan Coeur (The Hook Up Plan). Oh I am not getting over Marc Ruchmann’s smile any time soon.


	4. The confidant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. It’s actually the next chapter I’m struggling with. So, here goes the finished one ;)

The plan, apart from waiting, was to find out everything you could about Katie’s condition. And about her since she wasn’t willing to give you anything, but that goal was left unspoken.

Clint had offered to babysit for a little longer in favour to let you at least shower. You could use some rest too, but the obvious problem with the girl wouldn’t allow you to have such luxury, if only because the thought of her being in the lab would have kept you awake. And of course, the idea of you dealing with it while Steve would go to sleep was ridiculous and unimaginable for him, which meant no rest for him either.

So, you showered together, deciding to be a bit more sleep deprived. Because not getting enough sleep was apparently in Avengers’ job description. 

When you re-entered the laboratory, you could tell Katie was much better. There was a nervous smile on her face as Clint was telling her something and that sight caused you smile too.

“Hey, you look better,” you noted, rewarded by her pleased expression, something sparking in her irises. She waved at you in a greeting, showing off her hand that had a natural colour now. You nodded in acknowledgement of that fact.

“Thank you. I feel better. The chocolate was amazing and really helped.”

Clint leaned forward, his hands pushing onto his thighs to help him stand up. “Alright, I see I’m not needed-“

A beep of the computer Bruce was still sitting at interrupted Clint’s theatrical wounded note. Bruce looked at it, clinking on the announcement. Several sets of toned lines appeared and Katie immediately recognized a DNA test.

She panicked, using her powers at instant. The world around her froze, the time in the lab as if stopping, leaving everyone but her unmoving.

Katie stared at the monitor, biting her lip and grimacing as she realized just how badly she had screwed up.

Of course the software found matches. _Goddammit_ , she should have expected it! But she was _so_ distracted by the fact she met you, by the terrible mess it could make and yet how it felt like a blessing, a miracle.

There were two matches.

 _Of course_ there were.

She couldn’t even _imagine_ the consequences if you found out .She needed to get rid of the evidence. But how the hell she should do that? She had no fucking idea how the system worked; not this one anyway.

The solution seemed obvious, but her heart was beating its way out of her chest at it, because it was a _terrible_ idea. There was no way she should bring anyone else into this, but at the same time, she didn’t have another option.

You were out of question, obviously, as much as she hated it. Your fiancé as well. Clint? He would never agree to that and she wasn’t sure he knew how to delete the results anyway. She bit her lip harder as she looked at Bruce. _Well_. Technically, it was a bit of his fault she was here in the first place, so… yeah.

She sighed and gently touched his shoulder to unfreeze him; she always liked the physical contact better, it helped her to control her powers, even though she didn’t _need_ it per se.

He looked up to check the results and she could only imagine how his eyes went impossibly wide.

On the monitor, there were two matches for her DNA, none of her own, because she couldn’t be in any database. Not yet. But the system found the closest matches – her parents.

 _Captain America_ and _Frostbite._

Bruce’s head snapped to Katie and he seemed shocked to find her standing right behind him. Then he noticed no one else was looking over his shoulder and they were frozen in positions. He gaped, his eyes locking with hers.

“What the— how did you do that?”

She swallowed loudly as a hint of green crept up his neck. Shit, she so didn’t need him to Hulk-out now – _that_ she hadn’t thought through, she should have considered that freaking Bruce out might unleash the other guy. She prayed the truth would do the job and calmed him down a little.

“It’s… uhm, it’s the other ability of mine.”

“What— you can… what, stop time?”

She made a face. She kept using a different term. As a tribute of some sort. She was _freezing_ the time, or rather people and objects.

“Pretty much. U-- _Bruce_ , you can’t tell anyone,” she pleaded, her eyes flickering to the monitor.

Despite his better judgement, he took his eyes off of her; something about her sincerity must have made him believe she wouldn’t hurt him, which she wouldn’t of course. His skin returned to normal, but the tension was still visible in his shoulders. He stared at the results that didn’t make any more sense than her powers to him.

“How did you do this? How did you manage to manipulate it?” he asked, completely at lost.

She sighed. _And here it comes…_

“I… I didn’t. I didn’t do anything. It’s their work. And the laws of genetics, really,” she explained reluctantly, her voice strangled.

_The moment of truth._

Bruce’s eyebrows furrowed and he glanced at her once more until his eyes widened. He looked at the monitor again, seeing it in a completely different light. Katie’s heart skipped several beats. Supersoldier’s daughter or not, she still had feelings and her body reacted to them.

“Wh— how-- _what?_ That’s not-“ he stammered, shooting her an incredulous look.

But she could tell he was examining her now, her features. Her blond hair she had after her dad, her eyes she luckily took after her mother, _you_ , so she carried a piece of you and she could see it every day when she looked in a mirror. Her dad claimed she had your smile too; and there was always a shadow of grief when he did so.

When Bruce’s gaze fell to her necklace, she knew that rationally, he believed her; she automatically reached for the accessory to fumble with, a terrible habit she had gained soon after receiving it.

“But… is… wait, is time-travelling a thing?”

She grimaced. “Yeah. From the time where I come from… yeah.”

He observed her in silent awe, not sure what shocked him more. The fact the girl was from a freaking future – _somehow –_ or the fact that… that she was Steve’s and your daughter. Now that was… new.

Wow. What?  

“The problems you have now… with the cold. They _are_ the same as— oh my god. That’s-“

“That really has never happened to me before, must be the side effect of… time-travelling. I took after my parents-“ her gaze flickered to Steve’s frozen form and yours – oh dear god, it was still so hard to believe she was really meeting you. “Fast metabolism… like _really_ fast, and… freezing people and objects.”

Bruce heavily leaned his back onto the seat, taking the information in. This was… impossible. And somehow, very possible.

“So you’re really… really their— hold on, so when you were talking about your uncles and aunts, did you mean-“

Katie smiled at him warmly and a bit desperately. “Yeah. I was talking about you too, Uncle Bruce.”

Bruce blinked in surprise as the addressing rolled off her tongue as easily as if she was using it on daily basis. He chuckled incredulously, breathless.

“Wow. That’s-“

“Insane? Yeah. The problem is, as happy as I am to meet mom, I shouldn’t have-“

Bruce leaned forward quickly, reaching out his hand to stop her nervous babble. “Whoa, whoa, wait. What do you mean ‘meet’? She’s— …oh. Shit… _shit.”_

Katie’s jaw went slack at the curse word leaving her uncle’s lips, but at the same time, the surprise was so unimportant in comparison to the grief that covered her in heavy blanket like always.   

“Did you… did you come here to stop… whatever is about to happen to her?” he asked her warily, his eyes compassionate, yet strict. “I… it’s a horrible thing to say, but you can’t do that. Just you coming here, meeting up, it could completely mess up-“

She chuckled humourlessly, several tears escaping her eyes.

“You think I don’t know that? That me being here could… change everything? It’s too soon for that, but I know that by coming here, I could even endanger my own conception. I would never be born, erased from reality, creating a time paradox, because if I was never born, then I could never come here and interrupt my conception, but then I _would_ be born, _et cetera et cetera_ and it could destroy the reality as we know it, our whole world sucked up in a worm hole or something.” Bruce just stared. She couldn’t help a tiny smug smile. “Your words, not mine.”

“What-?”

“You were there before – you _will_ _be_ there before I come here. We would talk a lot about it.”

Bruce took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.  Now that was whole new level of crazy and he remembered fighting aliens and army of robots, so that meant a lot coming from him.

“Okay. I won’t tell them. But… we have to send you back. _How_ do we get you back? I mean, if you continue being here…”

“I have a way. Just… just give me one more day! Please! I… just one more day with her. She’s… she’s so amazing, Uncle Bruce! She’s… she’s so beautiful and badass and _kind_ , and… and the way dad’s looking at her, it’s— and he’s so happy. He’s… I can’t even remember seeing him like this. I don’t think I ever have.”

Bruce’s heart ached when he saw her like this, when he _learned_ all of this.

You were about to die. You were about to die, your daughter either never meeting you or not remembering you at all, Steve losing you… all of them were about to lose you. God, you were so young. How much time did you have now? Katie had said it would be too soon now for her to… cause herself not being… well, conceived, but _still_. He couldn’t just let that happen! But at the same time, the time paradox-

He grumbled tiredly, taking off his glass so he could massage the bridge of his nose. What the hell should he do with all this?

“Why, Katie… why would you come here, why would you tell _me_ of all people-“

“Well, you’re the only one I knew could erase the result of the test-“

“That was rhetorical question. How am I supposed to deal with it? How should I keep it a secret? Why should I? Katie, you just told me my friend is gonna— and-- _Jesus._ ”

“Sorry? Also… it’s… it’s Grace. My name is _Grace.”_

Bruce huffed when he felt as if the weight of the whole world fell on his shoulders, but as he watched her, he knew she must have felt exactly the same, maybe even worse. He understood – well, he could _pretend_ to understand why she had done it, how she must have felt. Wanting to see her mother alive, just this once. If there had been an opportunity to travel back in time, how could anyone blame her? Even with the risks?

And yet, somehow, she was still trying to be responsible, asking him to delete the record, so she wouldn’t mess up the future – had she known exactly who she had been saving? Had they been people she knew would survive anyway? Had she been _that_ careful? Bruce had a feeling she had done her research and the answer was yes-

God, how much strength it had to take not to tell you that she was your daughter? Not to save _your_ life?

Well, he was about to find out. _Christ_ , how was he gonna live with that? When you… when you would _die_ , _oh god,_ how was he gonna live with himself, knowing he could have prevented it?

“Uncle Bruce, please. I can’t keep it much longer. I’m getting cold again.”

She was right. The shivers attacked her again, her fingertips slowly turning unhealthy blue.

“Dammit!”

He quickly spun to the computer and slipped the glasses back on their place, wanting to cover her tracks. His index finger hovered above the delete button.

Oh, this was such a wrong thing to do… and yet the only _right_ thing.

“Please.”

He hit the button with a sigh.

“I’m a terrible actor, you know,” he rasped, trying to regain composure, preparing himself for playing a charade.

“I know,” she chuckled, the sound unfairly humourless. She climbed back to the bed, pulling the blankets over her to cover the sudden – sudden for the frozen people when being unfrozen, what the hell – change. “You couldn’t keep my birthday party secret, not once in eighteen years. Ready?”

“Not even close. Just let go so you won’t hurt yourself… Grace.”

She gave him a watery smile, shaky, and she curled up into the covers. She took a deep breath in and released the people she was holding as statues.

“-or wanted, so I’m just gonna go. You guys have fun,” Clint finished and you rolled your eyes, patting his arm.

“Sure, you go, old man. You look like you need rest.”

“Steve, your girl is being rude. Put her in line.”

“I will. Thanks for… waiting here. We needed a clean-up at least,” Steve pronounced honestly and Clint made a face.

“So didn’t need to know that.”

You rolled your eyes again at whatever direction Clint’s thoughts went and rather shifted your attention to Katie. When you looked at her properly, your eyebrows furrowed.

You would swear she had looked better. She had, right? She seemed so small in the covers now…

“Oh my, you didn’t get all that better, did you? Let me—let me make you, uhm-- you want another chocolate? Or rather a tea?”

“She makes a mean tea,” Bruce hummed absently, checking the results of the tests.

“Thanks, you never told me that!” you smiled at him, pleased. One would say there was nothing special about making a good tea, but hey, it could be a rocket science, okay?

Bruce cursed mentally. Damn him and his consciousness trying to ease itself by complimenting you! He smiled awkwardly.

“I thought it was implied.”

You chuckled and turned back to Katie, still awaiting her answer. She was definitely worse than just a moment ago. Strange.

“I’d like to try that tea, then…” _…mom._

“Coming right up.”

 _Katie’_ s gaze followed you reverentially and Bruce suddenly realized how obvious she was. It was so easy to spot the fascination now when he had an explanation for it. He gave the girl a knowing look, his eyes turning glassy.

How the hell was he going to deal with all this mess?

  


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, someone give Bruce a hug, please. That was mean of me to load that on him, but he was the clear choice.
> 
> Grace's/Katie's necklace if you're interested: https://www.balloons-galore.net/prod_images_blowup/10Sep1608_0_00_0_00_1.jpg
> 
> I was kinda excited about this chapter :)) Please, let me know what you think…
> 
> (Also, yes. Not denying heavy inspiration from one TV series, I’m not gonna name O:-) If you know, you know, if not, even better.)


	5. Mother(hen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever, because… action towards the end. Otherwise it’s a bit of filler chapter, I guess. Sorry not sorry.

The exhaustion took a toll on you and Katie herself actually sent you to bed, assuring you she trusted Doctor Banner. You were touched at the gesture, but the training you had received still flickered a tiny bit in you – you didn’t want her to be alone for various reasons.

So you decided to take turns now; while you and Steve finally went to bed, Sam and Tony replaced you in the lab. Bruce stayed – and you understood, alright, he was fascinated and he was like a bulldog when he sunk his teeth into a problem, he just couldn’t let go until he found a solution –, but he was starting to get high on caffeine and you weren’t sure it was a good thing.

When you re-entered the lab eight hours later, you found two sleep-deprived scientists and one supersoldier keeping Katie company. Which seemed unnecessary since she was soundly asleep, her hand curled around her necklace. You would never admit it out loud, but she looked kind of cute, few years younger now.

You noticed a fair shake of snacks wrappings on the table next to her, but paid no mind to it. You knew how that felt, needing energy, especially after shaking with cold for hours. Plus, you assumed that with her speed, she needed to eat _a lot._

While Tony and Bruce discussed things you didn’t understand (something about a new round of tests), Bucky was sitting by Katie’s bedside, watching her intently.

“Watching someone sleep is creepy, Barnes,” you whispered, a useless gesture apparently, since dynamic Iron-Hulk duo was in a heated discussion, not minding their volume at all despite the sleeping girl.

Bucky raised his gaze and made sure you saw him roll his eyes.

“She just looks familiar, is all,” he shrugged, standing up to stretch his muscles. His back popped as he raised his arms above his head. “You’re taking over baby-sitting duty, mom?”

Your eyebrows rose simultaneously with Steve’s.

“Mom?” you parroted dully, not even noticing Tony’s and Bruce’s voices falling silent.

“What? You found a stray and took her under your wings. You’re mother-henning her. She’s asking about you non-stop. You might as well be her actual mommy.”

Bruce spitted out his coffee, coughing violently as the liquid must have got to the wrong pipe of his. Tony patted his back, only to be stopped by his hand.

“Wow, Bruce. If your body can’t even tell the difference between swallowing and breathing, you really should get some rest…” Tony mocked him and Bruce shot him an irritated look with his red-rimmed glistering eyes.

“I’m fine, Mr. I Have More Coffee In My Bloodstream Than Blood,” Bruce murmured back, small cough escaping him once more.

You chuckled at the note. Bruce was silent and serious most of the time, but when he opened his mouth…

Your gaze returned to the bed before glancing up to Bucky, who was giving you a my-point-exactly look. It was your turn to roll your eyes.

“At least I’m not watching her sleep exclusively. She really asked about me?”

“All the friggin’ time, she was almost ignoring me,” Bucky confirmed, patting Steve’s arm on his way out. “Pal, I think we’re getting too old to charm a lady. You better keep your gal on leash, because you won’t manage to get any other.”

“You could always try guys, Barnes!” Tony called out after him, while Steve just huffed at your side.

“Been there, done that! Just not the same, Stark!”

And the door clicked shut behind him. You shot Steve a surprised look. “He has?”

“Not sure, actually,” he sighed and then crossed his arms on his chest. “Do you think I’m old?”

You stared at him, speechless, perfectly taken aback at the question. He reciprocated your gaze seriously, blue eyes piercing yours. You couldn’t help it. You burst out laughing, bending in your waist with the roar of laughter, tears springing from your eyes.

“You— you’re asking me-“ You didn’t manage to let out more words, laughter taking over your body again.

Steve watched you, frowning, and seemed almost wounded. You pressed your lips together, making your way to him with silent giggles.

“Oh yeah, I think I saw grey hair this morning, right here-“

“Hey!” He snatched away your hand, covering the place you were reaching for.

You gave him a gentle smile, realizing he might have actually believed you. You took his protective hand, pulling it away. He cracked his theatrics then, grinning back, and you noticed Bruce and Tony returned to their discussion, giving you some privacy.

“You’re such a drama queen, Rogers,” you murmured, letting him sneak his other arm around your waist, pulling you against his front.

“Maybe. And maybe I’m just worried _my gal_ will run away with someone younger and handsomer…”

You met his playfully twinkling eyes, noticing a true shadow of insecurity in them. The true was that tiny wrinkles were forming around them, but only when he was smiling and you found it endearing; it was telling a story of lifetime of gentle smiles and laugh to balance the terror he had seen.

You kissed him lightly before wrapping your arms around his torso.

“I would have to look really hard for such a fella. Not worth it.”

His chest rumbled with hushed laughter, his lips pressed against your scalp.

“Geez, thanks. Thank god you’re lazy.”

You smacked his back. “Shut up, Rogers. That was a compliment.”

“Oh was it now? When do I get to call _you_ Rogers, Anderson?”

You stilled in his arms, your breath hitching.

Ever since he had proposed, things had been shitty. The break-up of the team, the forced get-together to fight Thanos, falling to ashes – the least favourite memory of yours, honestly –, your time in the soul stone or whatever while the survivors had been trying to find a way to save you, _being saved_ , the aftermath, the reconciliation…. And then there had been other battles to fight, always keeping you busy.

In other words, there hadn’t been much room to talk about the wedding. Which made it even more shocking he brought it up now.

You manipulated yourself out of the tight embrace a bit so you could at least look up at his face. He seemed nervous as if he realized his ‘mistake’. You smiled at him widely, warm feeling curling up around your heart.

“Whenever you want, Steve,” you whispered, causing him to return the smile and kiss your forehead. His gaze fell on the engagement ring on your necklace.

“Soon then.”

“Is this about what Bucky said?”

He shook his head rapidly, way too fast. You raised your eyebrow in challenge and he hesitated. “I want it for a long time. I guess I just needed a nudge.”

“Mm… I’m gonna have to thank him later,” you murmured, meeting Steve’s lips one more time, this time lingering.

“Hey, it’s impossible to work when you’re making out like horny teenagers here…”

You sighed and rolled your eyes at Tony, letting go of Steve.

You settled by Katie’s still sleeping form – and wow, _how_ was she still asleep with all the crazy people around –, Steve by your side.

“Am I mother-henning her?” you asked reluctantly all of sudden and Steve cackled in response – an answer of its own. He reached for your hand, squeezing lightly.

“A little. It’s cute.”

You huffed, wondering if it was the truth. You being a mother-hen. And naturally, your mind wandered to... being a mother. You had wanted kids, always, but it had been partly because you suspected you wouldn’t be able to do so given your fragile health. And after the transformation, you never gave it a second thought. But maybe…

You bit your lip and glanced at Steve, finding a thoughtful expression on his face. Maybe he was thinking about the same. Being a parent. You never had that conversation. Now was barely the time for it though.

But one day maybe…

\---

The door to the lab flew open, revealing Natasha in her tactic gear, effectively giving you a heart attack.

“Hey, fellas. Remember the little incident with fish-oil? You know, bunch of crystals falling to the ocean, causing people to cocoon in weird black whatever, some of them waking up with superpowers when they emerged?”

You grimaced in confusion. Say what now?

“Uhm…”

“Yes...? Terrigenesis. What about it?”

You shot Steve a confused look. He _knew_ what she was talking about? Was that another thing that had happened when you hadn’t been with them? How had no one told about something this big? Come on! Superpowers!

 _…superpowers_? As in-- you quickly glanced back at Katie, but she seemed as intrigued as you were if nothing else. Huh. Alright, back to the theory she had gained hew powers the same way you had.

“Well, they are on the market. We don’t know how that happened, but we know someone bought them and the trade is about to take place in an hour. In Jersey. And we really need to go,” Natasha announced.

“How do I not know about this?” Tony complained, but jumped to his feet.

“Probably had your mind elsewhere, Stark. Now, can we please go? I decided Clint is on the babysitting duty.”

“Yeah. Because I just love dealing with speedsters,” the archer murmured darkly, appearing behind Tasha, who sighed at that. “No offence, kid.”

“None taken,” Katie quipped, curling in the covers. She had taken a shower earlier, her hair still little wet, and you couldn’t help but feel like she seemed a bit intimidated at the idea of being alone with Clint.

“Maybe I should stay too-“

“I will,” Bruce interrupted you hastily, shocking you all. “What? You don’t need the Hulk anyway. And I feel like I’m really getting to the core of our little problem...”

Natasha narrowed her eyes. Bruce seemed suspiciously eager to be here (though he wasn’t a fan of unleashing the green guy in the first place) and the way Katie relaxed didn’t go unnoticed by the spy.

“You sure?” Steve asked as rose to his feet. You hesitantly followed his example.

“Positive.”

“Alright… Clint and Bruce it is. You three, gear up.”

“Yes, _Captain_ ,” you teased Natasha lightly and she rolled her eyes, while the corners of Steve’s lips twitched.

His fingers circled your wrist on the way out. “Hey, you feel up to fight again?”

“Yeah, sure. I’m fine.” You spared one last glance to Katie, honestly more worried about her than yourself. She seemed worried too. You tried not to read much into it and gave Steve a reassuring smile. “You?”

“Always,” he sighed and jogged to the elevator with you by his side.

\---

As expected, the supposedly simple mission went to shit.

The awfully large group of mercenaries wanted the crystals really, _really_ bad. And it had everything to do with the fact they had three enhanced on their team already.

One of them was able to control fire – like _shooting the fire from his bare hands_. You were _not_ pleased. It melted your ice all too easily and to be honest, it was actually pissing you off. You ended up fighting him of course, because it would be a shame to the irony to be lost.

Another guy was able to turn into metal. Tony took it as a personal offence and went after him.

The last one… the last one could control electricity and disabled Vision within five minutes of the fight. Wanda was furious, so another opponents were settled.

To assume that the others were chilling when fighting ‘regular’ humans would be stupid though. There were lots of them and they carried various guns and weapons you hadn’t even seen before in a picture, let alone in action. And encounter them for the first time now was everything but cool.

So while you were fighting the enhanced, the rest of your team was trying their best to keep the others occupied. Needless to say they were doing a great job.

You built a ten-inch wall of ice in front of you when you saw a fresh wave of fiery monster heading your direction. Naturally, you ended up soaking wet, your clothes heavy on you, and you were getting incredibly irritated with this guy, you truly were. Well, if you could be dripping wet like a fucking mermaid, so could he.

This time you created a paper thin layer of ice, sending it his way, heading straight to his eyes. He smirked and deflected it with fire – and ended up with a splash of warm water in his face. It didn’t hurt him in the slightest; but it gave you a second of him being disoriented and that was all you needed. 

Since most of your ice melted when being shot at him, you used the good old gun at your ankle. You had the minimum time to actually aim, but you hit the guy’s torso anyway.

His gasp was more shocked than pained, but you didn’t give a shit. You dropped a huge ball of ice on his head and even when it predictably turned to water, the amount knocked him unconscious.

You weren’t allowed to catch a break.

An awfully familiar cry of pain made your heart stop. You didn’t hear it often – but when you did, you knew something truly went to shit.

Steve.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Natasha is super observant, Bucky knows his friend and his features all too well and because I couldn’t resist letting Frosty fight a guy on fire – not just because of fire and ice, but also because of Evans’ earlier role of Human Torch in Fantastic 4 (never seen it, by the way, should I?). 
> 
> And mainly because clearly, I’m a little shit and I’m stalling the angst. It arrives soon though, scout’s honour.


	6. Hanging on a thread

You found him on the ground, lying on his side – curled up into himself. Minus the helmet, of course, because this was Steve and he _always_ lost him helmet in a fight. His voice fell silent as he gritted his teeth, his eyes squeezed shut, face twisted in a grimace that could only mean agony.

You scanned the surrounding as you sprung his direction, finding a smirking man with heavy weapon resembling a flame-thrower in his hands. Before you could send him to hell yourself, his smile froze and blood emerged from his mouth.

You didn’t care who you had to thank for that, simply grateful you could kneel beside Steve’s crumpled form.

He looked like he wanted to clutch his upper arm he was lying on, so you assumed that was the point of impact of whatever that son of a bitch hit him with.

“Steve-“

Your hand barely made contact with his healthy arm when his eyes snapped open, pools of blue suffering staring at you.

“Don’t touch me!” he strained through his teeth, shying away. You quickly raised your arm, alarmed you had caused him more pain.

Your eyes widened in horror as he rolled over and you saw the black stain – which wasn’t a _stain_. Whatever was in that gun, it seemed to burn through Steve armour, turning his skin to black. And it looked like it was… spreading, angry tentacles of black as if swallowing up the tissue – and you were suddenly sure what Steve meant was ‘don’t touch _it’._ It looked as if the substance was climbing up his arm. Very slowly, but very effectively and clearly _very painfully._

“Oh god- Sam!” you yelled as you touched your earpiece.  “I need you to pick up Steve and get him to the quinjet. I’m taking him to Bruce.”

“On my way. What’s wrong?”

You gulped, terror eating you alive just like the bioweapon(?!) creeping up Steve’s arm.

“I have no fucking clue.”

Sam landed few feet from you, running to your side before you could say more.

“Steve, we’re gonna get you to Bruce, okay? Sam’s gonna have to touch you-“ you informed him gently, your voice shaking.

“No!” he panted, sweat breaking on his forehead as he clenched his teeth again. “Can’t touch the-“

“Yeah, I got that, let’s hope we can avoid that,” you hissed, making space for you friend.

“Jesus _shit_ , what is that?!” Sam cried out, bending to Steve.

“Don’t know, wouldn’t touch it if I were you,” you threw over your shoulder, jumping to your feet, and you sprinted to the quinjet.

You created a thick layer of ice for you to jump on and slide the rest of the way. You almost made it before Sam. Almost. Sam managed to drag Steve’s now barely conscious ass to the tiny jets prepared for the rainy days. Oh, now was definitely pouring.

You slipped to the pilot seat, starting the engines.

Sam jumped back to the fight, leaving you alone as you were murmuring under your breath. Steve’s body was trying to fight shit you knew nothing about, clearly was running out of time and it was up to you to save him – or rather deliver him to someone who could know a lot more than you did.

_“Well, shit. This isn’t familiar at all.”_

\---

Bruce was waiting for you with Doctor Cho in the room already, since you had brought him up to speed during the flight. It also meant Clint was sent back to the battle instead of you and Steve.

Two paramedics plus Katie were on the roof, going for Steve as soon as you touched the ground, moving him to a stretcher and speeding into medical. You and Katie were in their tow, the girl letting you keep up with her despite the fact she could rush in before you could do as much as blink your eye.

Her face was white as sheet of paper; you imagined yours was the same.

Bruce didn’t try to stop you entering the operating room. He already had Steve attached to a heart monitor, a blood sample analyse running as well as the substance analyse and he was hovering with Cho over Steve’s body, dressed up in what looked like modified scrubs and thick gloves you haven’t seen before.

“Do you any idea what this is?” you threw on him, only two shakes of head being your response. Your chest felt even tighter than before.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Your eyes frantically roamed over Steve’s form. He was out, but his muscles were spasming occasionally and seemingly randomly. The upper half of his suit was stripped, and god, the sight of him made you break into tears. The black substance climbed up his shoulder now – heading towards his heart and jugular.

You had a distant feeling that if it reached either of those places, there would be no coming back. There had to be a way to stop it!

“I don’t know, they just shot him with this— this weird _gun_ -“ you stuttered, ignoring your voice breaking. When Steve’s back arched and the heart monitor freaked out for several seconds, you were sure your own heart stopped.

You covered your mouth with your hand, shocked at the cold feeling on your lips. The realization hit you like a train.

“What if I cool it again? Like with the anti-serum? Could it stop it from spreading at least?”

Bruce shot you a look, quickly making space for you. You dashed into his place, your hands hovering above Steve’s arm.

“Come on, come on…” you murmured, not caring your hands were shaking. _Just let the cold do its job…_

You could feel three extra pairs of eyes watching your doing, but you didn’t care either. All you could do was to stare at the wound that was not only _not_ closing, but was happily sprouting towards the vital organs as if you weren’t even trying. You pressed harder, feeling the exhaustion that was cumulating since the fight creeping up your spine.

_Oh, wonderful._

The heart monitor screamed again and you retreated your hands in horror.

“Why isn’t it stopping?! Why isn’t it _working?!”_ you shouted, tears sprouting from your eyes in waterfalls now, your voice cracking. “Bruce?”

He moved to Steve’s side, probing the strange substance. 

“I don’t know! Clearly it’s some sort of a bioweapon and—I don’t know, okay? It could be bacterial-- bacteria are very hardy, surviving in terrible conditions, but there’s no way they should reproduce this fast-“

Hardy, he said? Alright, you could test _that_. At this point, you didn’t care if Steve was about to lose his arm to frostbite. You aimed your powers towards the black hole eating his limb up, gritting your teeth.

_“Fuck, fuck, fuck, come on-“_

The feeling like being cut with a knife ran along your spine with your effort, yet it wasn’t helping and you let out a yell of frustration and pain.

_Come on. Steve, you have a fucking super-serum in you! Fight it!_

The new shot agony forced you to your knees this time, making you scream and lose the focus completely as well as the contact. You powers shut down.

“F-frosty?” a tiny and very terrified voice addressed you.

_Katie_. You honestly forgot she was here.

Your glanced up at her absently, your mind fully with Steve and drowning in desperation. Only for your eyes to widen in shock when seeing her – and no, it was not because of the tears staining her face, no. It was-- what the hell?

_What the actual fuck?_

“You’re— are you-- _fading?”_ you choked out, trying to stand up to try to help Steve again, because while you were utterly confused and horrified at what you were seeing happening with Katie, you had zero idea how to help her either. The Steve situation was a bit familiar at least.

_Sure, lose two people in one day, why don’t you…_

“I— I don’t know. It’s…---“ There was a short pause, only interrupted by Bruce mumbling to Doctor Cho. A look of pure terror appeared on the girl’s face. You didn’t know where to look first. “Oh god, no. No, no, no, that can’t be happening! We have to do something!”

Yeah, well. Your fiancé was momentarily lying on an operation table, and the girl who appeared out of nowhere was literally disappearing _into nowhere_ , and your powers were completely useless. You had no fucking clue what to do.

You were watching an attempt on surgery almost breathless, but now you were hyperventilating, your mind frantic, one thought melting into another. You noticed the walls of the operation room started covering in ice.

_Shit. How is that possible when my powers shut down? Am I geared up again?_

Yes, you were. Huh.

Bruce noticed the haywire manifestation of your abilities as well.

“Whoa, whoa! Hey, he’s gonna be okay, he _has_ _to_ be okay. Calm down!” he yelled.

Somehow, he didn’t sound so convincing since his gloved hands were covered in the strange substance mixing with blood.

You ran your fingers through your hair, desperately trying to take a _hold_ of your powers at least. But tears of helplessness were gathering in your eyes instead and you felt like you were about to explode. The frantic beeping of heart monitor was screaming in your ears.

You covered them, but it didn’t do a thing.

_“I’m not helping, dammit, dammit-“_

Feeling the weakness in your knees, you gave in once more, crumbling to the floor as a pile of misery, your hand moving over your mouth. You bit into the flesh to prevent yourself from screaming.

No, no, no, please, _not Steve-_

“Hey, hey, it’s not your fault— if… if it’s anyone’s fault, then it’s mine. I… I shouldn’t have been here, I held Clint behind and-- I messed everything up and now I-“

You shook your head rapidly at Katie’s words, your messy hair flying around as with the movement. She lowered herself to your level, her serious eyes swimming in tears. That look on her broke your heart all over again.

The words were spilling from your mouth on autopilot.

“That’s not on you. He’s so strong, it’s next to impossible to imagine something might hurt him, and every time something happens to him, it’s like I just freeze. I’m completely useless. Fuck, _goddammit-”_

“Oh my god! You’re _brilliant!”_

“What?” you creaked, not following at all and _shit_ you just wanted to understand one _fucking_ thing so you could do something about it-

“I need to freeze him.”

You blinked, still not following. “What— what are you talking about? You-“

“It’s not the cold he needs. He needs _time_ so we could figure it-- u— _Bruce?_ What do you think?” the girl snapped her head to the doctor, earning a short glance before he returned to uselessly hover over Steve, but clearly considering her words.

“Wait, what? What are— Bruce?” you breathe out, completely at lost.

“Might work. Worth a shot. Can you even do something now, when you’re… you know?”

Katie sighed, more tears _flooding_ from her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. She gulped.

“Worth a shot,” she parroted dully, sounding exhausted. Then she extended her hand to Steve’s leg, her almost transparent fingers twitching.

The heart monitor fell silent.

You jumped to your feet, ignoring the vertigo it caused you, and gripped her arm to immediately pull her away.

“What the hell did you do?!”

“HEY! It’s okay. She can… stop time. Sort of. It’s not gonna hurt him,” Bruce cried out, sounding half-guilty, half-hopeful and you honestly wanted to scream and never stop. What the hell was he talking about? And how would he know?!

“What? And you know that how?”

Bruce swallowed loudly. “We’ll have time for that later. Doctor Cho? Let’s get to work.”

There was nothing you could do, only watch. The heart monitor had been disconnected so it wouldn’t stress you, but to be honest, you didn’t give a shit. You felt your gastric juices almost come to your mouth several times, you had your hands in your hair all the time, you had no tears left and Katie was just standing there, watching Steve with intensity, her hand on his shin as if she was… god knew what. And Bruce seemed unconcerned by the fact he was possibly performing surgery and scraping tissue from a corp- no, _nope._

You were all shocked to find out that the substance didn’t fought its way too deep, but hell if you understood shit of what was happening here.

“I’m not fading anymore.”

That sentence made you snap your head to the girl and she let out an incredulous chuckle.

Bruce’s gaze measured her shortly before returning to whatever he was doing. Katie watched her hands with disbelief, delighted smile on her lips.

“I’m back. He’s gonna-“ She laughed again, looking at you with her eyes twinkling in happiness while Bruce re-attached the sensors for measuring Steve’s heartbeat.

“I think you can let go,” he whispered then and Katie was still laughing, releasing Steve from the whatever state he had been in.

The strange murderous substance was all gone in a dark reinforced container, a beeping of heart monitor filling the room and… and after few stumbles, it sounded normal. _Perfectly normal_.

Your feet acted on their own, carrying you to the man on the table. Katie stepped back, staring at her hands and you reached for Steve’s own, being ninety percent sure he would resolve into thin air if you touched him. But he didn’t.

You huffed out a hysterical laugh, watching his chest rise and fall several times before glancing at Katie.

“He’s gonna be okay,” she repeated, her eyes shining.

You didn’t follow what, how, why-- but she was right. And her body was back to itself as well. She wasn’t transparent anymore. Had… using her powers helped her body to recover? But it should be the other way around— and how the hell did Bruce even know about her other ability? How-

How helping _Steve_ had helped _Katie_ as well?

Your vision was blurry as hell with the tears of relief, but you looked at Katie, _really_ looked at her for the first time. Her features, her eyes, her long blond hair. The way she smiled sometimes, the way she was watching Steve, watching _you_ with admiration. Her fast _everything_. Her, freezing people. Her abilities causing her problems with thermoregulation.

Her, starting to fade simultaneously with Steve’s life hanging on a thread and miraculously stopping when he got saved. Her blood results turning the way they had – not finding any match in the DNA database.

There was only one explanation, as crazy as any other, yet the only one making sense.

You barely registered when she threw her arms around you, resting her head on your shoulder, squeezing you tightly. She nuzzled her face in your hair, inhaling deeply, breathing out shakily, her tears dampening your already water-dripping suit.

Katie wasn’t from this world. She wasn’t from this _time_.

The realization dawned to you with a wave of numbness, your brain too stunned to react. You automatically wrapped your arms around her too.

“I did it! We did it!” she whispered excitedly, her voice shaking with emotions and you only nodded, unable to say a word.

You were standing there as Bruce attached a different blood-bag to Steve’s i.v. before moving him to recovery. You only managed to stare at Doctor Cho and Bruce cleaning up. And then Cho left the room with Bruce on her tail again and you finally snapped from your shock.

“Bruce. Stay,” you ordered stiffly, slowly letting go of Katie, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

He cursed under his breath. You met his eyes with insistence, before you took Katie’s face into your hands, examining the girl who only managed to blink in surprise at your actions.

You were right. There was no way you were wrong about this, no matter how _insane_ it was.

“We need to talk. All of us.”

Katie’s lips parted when she saw the change in your expression. She knew something was different, the way you were staring at her now… it was much more affectionate than just few minutes ago. Was it because you were grateful? She would totally understand if you were, she just saved your future husband.

“O-okay. Why don’t we change first?” Bruce offered, probably glaring at your still wet clothes and gesturing toward his own outfit. You wouldn’t know, because your eyes weren’t on him.

You still held Katie’s gaze. Her eyes were wide and glassy and you couldn’t quite process you were seeing your _own_.  Your focus shifted towards the freaking necklace she wore. A _snowflake_. How obvious did it have to be?

“Good idea. But then you two are gonna tell me _everything_. _”_

\---

It only took you few minutes, your body running on autopilot; you were in the room you had agreed to meet in in no time, both Bruce and Katie already in. You only nodded. Here it came. You were about to be proclaimed insane. Except you wouldn’t.

“FRIDAY, privacy protocol. Now. You two, sit.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, dun. But hey, looks like Steve survives after all…
> 
> I just love dropping random bits from TV series. When writing this chapter, I remembered Charmed (the original series, ya’ know, the Halliwel sisters) and mainly Chris Halliwel, when he travels back in time and is almost erased from existence, when Piper and Leo find themselves in the Ghostly Plane. And he’s fading until they…uhm. But I might as well be a dinosaur, so you possibly didn’t see any similarity. Never mind :D
> 
> Thoughts? Either coherent or incoherent, both are very welcomed ;)  
>  


	7. Family reunion

“How long have you known?” you asked Bruce in accusing tone. You were slowly processing and realized you were pissed at Bruce. How could he keep something like this from you? From Steve?

“For a while. She demonstrated her powers when… when she needed my help.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Bruce sank deeper into the couch. Those two looked like kids about to be scolded by their parents and the irony was not lost on you. Except it brought tears into your eyes. Goddammit _shit_.

“And what are you asking?” Katie chipped barely audible as if she was afraid you were gonna hit her.

God, had you ever hit her? Or well, were you ever gonna hit her? You prayed not. You really would have to lose your nerves to do that – or she would have to turn evil under a mind-control or something, wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened and—alright, this was _so_ not helping.

“I’m asking Bruce since when has he known that— that-- how long does he know who you are.”

Their jaws went slack, their eyes widening in horror. Absolute silence filled the room as their breaths hitched.

“What do you mean?” Bruce continued to play dumb lamely. You gave him a pointed look.

“Oh, okay. You wanna play dumb? Cool. Let’s see the facts. First of all, your name is not Katie. I’m like… ninety percent sure. Ninety five. Your name is either Lillian, Grace or Ava.”

Judging by their shocked faces, you were right. You had always wanted that. You loved those names. Then again, maybe Steve didn’t like either of those? You had never asked him so far. But you didn’t think ‘Katie’ was it for him.

“Or… maybe Sarah.” After Steve’s mum. That would be acceptable. ”Anyway. There’s your powers. There’s your health issues. There’s your goddamned hair and eyes, the necklace – I cannot believe I didn’t figure it out sooner.”

“I’m-“

You held out your index finger to stop her when she wanted to interrupt you. “Nope. I’m talking, young lady.”

Bruce and ‘Katie’ drew in sharp breaths. Oh god. Did you just called her _young lady?_ You cleared your throat awkwardly.

“The similarity is unmistakable. But honestly? You almost disappearing when Steve— was not very well? Yeah, pretty big clue. Also I can just _wonder_ how it’s possible that your DNA didn’t match with any person walking this Ea-“ you stopped in midsentence, another realization striking you. You gaped at Bruce. “Oh my god! That’s when you learned! You helped her, didn’t you? She _did_ have a match!”

“Two, actually…” Bruce admitted with a timid smile, but you shot him a sharp glare that made him slump his shoulders.

You collapsed into the armchair at the weight of the news. Bruce had known since then. He had manipulated the results so you didn’t find out! Why?

Why wouldn’t he want you to know you would have a daughter? How could he _not_ tell you that?! That your adult daughter was right here?! You didn’t even know her _name_. Were you such a terrible mother? Did this girl say something to Bruce, something you were about to do in the future that he couldn’t tell you?

You didn’t notice you started crying until you _daughter_ was kneeling in front of the armchair, taking your hands into hers, watching your with pleading eyes, as watery as your own were.

“Please, _please_ , don’t cry. I didn’t want to make you cry,” she whined miserably, her voice so small. “Please, I’m so sorry… mom.”

You shrieked hysterically. It was one thing to think – to practically _know_ – you were a _mother,_ a mother to this girl, but actually hear her call you that? That was… that was-- you stared at her soundlessly then as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

Oh god, she was _so_ Steve’s daughter; she might have had your eyes, but god, that puppy look she sure took after him.

“Which one is it?” you asked shakily and her grip on you tightened. She seemed confused. “The… the name.”

A tiny smile graced her lips. “Grace. My name is Grace.”

You pressed your lips together and nodded frantically. Yeah, okay. Of course Steve would let you name your daughter. He probably thought you deserved it for carrying her under your belly for forty weeks or something.

“Hi, Grace,” you greeted her quietly and her smile grew wider, tears changing into waterfalls.

“Hi, mom.”

“How… why are you here? Am… am I pregnant?” A horrible thought struck you as you said those words, coming hand to hand with incredible self-hatred. “Did… did Steve— did he die today? Is that why you were fading? Did I decide not to have you when I found out I was pregnant and Steve had-?”

Grace opened her mouth, no sound coming out. You realized your mistake.

“Right. You probably can’t tell me anything. Also, if I decided not to have you, you would never be born, so you logically couldn’t come here to change that—…my head hurts. I should have been paying more attention when watching Back to the Future.”

No one laughed at you attempt of joke. You didn’t blame them.

“Well, to be fair, I think you didn’t quite expect to live your own version of the movie?” Bruce offered gently, somewhat sad smile on his lips. Grace glanced over her shoulder at him before her gaze returned to you.

“So… what are you doing here? How… _how_ did you even get here?”

“Not by DeLorean. I… I can’t tell you.”

“Right. I did see all of the movies and few more. Time paradox. You _can’t_ change the past, because the consequence could be… really bad.”

Her smile faltered and the painful grimace felt like a shot through your heart. She sobbed.

“I know. But I _want to._ I want to change it _so much,_ you have no idea. _”_

You acted on instinct. You leaned forward, pulling the girl into a hug. It made her sob harder, so you ran a soothing hand down her back, cradling her in your arms twice. She shook as she was trying to stop crying.

“Oh sweetheart, it’s gonna be okay. Whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay. I promise. We’ll handle it, together.”

She released a heart-breaking sound and you squeezed her tighter, mentally questioning your addressing to her. How on Earth had you got from Katie to Grace to _sweetheart_?

“The truth is… you won’t,” Bruce announced hesitantly and you shot him a murderous look. Why was he ruining your attempts to comfort her? His eyes were glassy as well, watching your pair in compassion. You tilted your back to side, not following. “Not together.”

Your heart stopped, air caught in your throat. Oh. _Oh_. You died. Well, in the future you would die. You _died_ and that was why Grace was here. To say goodbye?

The revelation crushed you, panic rising in your chest. You didn’t want to die! Like… well, ever, but definitely not with your daughter so young! She was just a kid still! You were still-…

Your kid, sobbing in your arms. Your future kid, meeting your past self for comfort. Jeeeez, that was… _Jesus_.

“I’m gonna die. I… I died recently and you… you came here because of that, didn’t you, sweetheart?”

Grace shook her head wildly and you didn’t know if she was trying to deny it or was just refusing to accept the fact you were not alive anymore.

God, your head really _did_ hurt from all the abstract thinking. And Bruce’s grimacing wasn’t helping.

“Dad…” she mumbled to your shoulder and you retreated a little so you could see her face. God, her eyes were so red from the crying. “Dad was okay. He was _always_ okay, in the end. But… mom, you… I never met you.”

Your body went numb, the words echoing in your skull, mocking.

_I never met you._

_I never met you._

_I never met you._

_I never-_ she had never met you. You… you died before you could— but-

“I’m so sorry, mom, I am so, so, _so_ sorry. I— it’s my fault, I-“

You stared blankly ahead of yourself, unable to react.

_It’s my fault._

You must have died during or right after the labour then. Somehow, that information was as terrible as… not terrible. You were gonna die while giving another life. That was… one of the better possibilities, right? It was the voice Grace had said the words in what struck your emotions much more hurtful.

That hate in her tone. Aimed at herself. The guilt.

You framed her damp face with your palms, smiling at her through your own tears. You shook your head.

 _“No._ You did nothing wrong. I… I don’t know what happened, but… just the fact you’re named _Grace._ Sweetheart, I… I had no idea was going to have a daughter until like…  ten minutes ago, but there are few things I know. I already know that I’m gonna love you,” you reassured her.

You weren’t certain where the words were coming from, where did you find the strength to say it when you just found out you were gonna die before even meeting your own daughter. Grace squeezed her eyes shut, leaning into your touch as if she was chasing the feeling – a feeling she must have been missing, growing without her mother, _Jesus Christ¸_ this was so unfair-

“I’m gonna love you and there is no way I won’t think you’re the greatest gift, a miracle. And… if something goes wrong – I don’t know, during the labour, or right after… you need to know that right now – seeing you here, so beautiful-- you must have taken so much after your father, there’s no other explanation for you to be like this, so strong and kind-hearted… I already know that if I’m gonna lay my life to give it to you, it’s gonna be worth it.”

“Mom-“

“Though I’m sorry I’m not gonna be there for you. I’m always gonna be _with you_. Looking from above and hopefully carried in your heart.” You smiled at the necklace this time, tracing it with your fingertips.

“Aunt Natty gave me that,” she choked out, clasping the charm with her fingers tightly.

 _Aunt Natty._ How crazy was that?

“Did the girl just call me Aunt Natty?” too familiar voice sounded from the doorway the very same time two more dully parroted “Aunt Natty?”

Wanda’s voice was a little quieter, but still audible: “Does that make me Aunt Wanda?”

You quickly let go of your daughter’s face.

“FRIDAY!” Bruce complained loudly, staring at the rest of the team minus Steve in horror.

“Sir’s overdrive. I’m sorry, Doctor Banner,” the AI apologized swiftly and you buried your face into your hands. “Sorry, Agent Anderson. Miss Katie. Or, Miss Grace.”

Your heart positively stopped.

“I beg your pardon?” That was Tony’s bewildered voice.

“How the hell – privacy protocols?!”

“I still have to save the data, Agent Anderson.”

“Fuck your AI’s, Tony!” you hissed, rising to your feet, standing in front of your daughter protectively as you felt the team’s disbelief and tension. They were only gonna hurt her over your dead body— which, _ouch_.

“I’m not here for few goddamned hours and this place is a funhouse. What’s happening here? Bruce? I knew you were acting funny before, tell me,” Natasha demanded, pacing into the room. “What the hell is this sobfest and why did she just call me Aunt Natty?”

You opened your mouth uselessly. What the hell were you supposed to tell them?!

Your daughter cleared her throat behind you, curling her fingers around your wrist as she sidestepped you. You frowned at her.

“Hi, everyone. I... I don’t think there’s much left for me to mess up, so it’s probably time for me to introduce myself. Though… I should probably start with the fact that… that I’m from the future.”

All newcomers stared at her with a mixture of scepticism and awe. When she whispered her name – her full name, including the middle one and the last… you were all left just speechless.

She was named after you; of course she was. It almost didn’t surprise you that her middle name was same as your first. What surprised you even less was that Steven Grant Rogers either wanted Grace to carry his name, or rather made you an honest woman before you gave him a daughter – you didn’t know whether it was long before he knew you were pregnant or only after, but it didn’t matter. It made you and your daughter a _Rogers_.

Somewhere in the future, you were about to be an actual family.

The revelation was as sweet as bitter.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, the cat’s out of the bag and no one can put her back. 
> 
> The next chapter I’m about to post is a flashforward as an opposite to flashback – simply from the future. I’m gonna post it as a standalone as well, because I think someone outside Melting Hearts readers might be interested. Also, it’s totally gonna be angsty, so brace yourself :D But it has Matt Murdock! Yay! (some_fiction, I’m looking at you :D) 
> 
> And thank you all for beautiful comments. I just want to let you know how much they mean to me ♥


	8. Show me the path of love to take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA Flashforward no.1.

He didn’t leave their room for days.

Hell, he barely moved. He knew he should shower. Shave. Leave his fucking hideout. Go see anyone. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. He could have felt the thirst, the hunger. His muscles’ stiffness for being in the same position too long. He was pretty sure that he would have been able to smell himself.

But his whole focus was on the little movement of his fingers, the sensation of the chain and most importantly, the smooth metal of the ring. The engraving. The last word of it in particular, brining fresh tears to his eyes every so often. _Together_.

The first part of the sentence was on written on his own ring. _The only battle worth fighting…_

Yours was carrying the more important part; as you were from the two of them. _…is the one fought together._

Steve pressed his lips into a line to stop his jaw from trembling and pushed his fist harder against his forehead.

_So how do you fight the battle alone?_

It was the only question that mattered to him now and at the same time, it was the one question he knew he could possibly never find the answer for – not after he had learned what was it like not to fight it on his own.

Pale cold skin. Lifeless hand in his own. The picture of your empty eyes… it was burned into his brain, never leaving.

They had to drag him away – the love of his life ripped from his fingers –, after a while; the time that felt like eternity, each beat of his heart too slow and painful. He would exchange every one of those for one more moment with you.

It wasn’t the first time he had lost you. He still remembered you turning into dust right in front of his eyes, literally slipping from under his fingertips, the sensation still haunting him every now and then.

Well. Not anymore. Now he had a new nightmare.

And it was worse. Because the first time, he had something to fight. He had a villain to beat, to avenge your death and possibly reverse it. This time, he had neither.

It wasn’t a battle he could fight, let alone win. The complications came without warning and hit hard. The doctors, plural, weren’t able to beat it. Let alone one little soldier.

Steve released a shaky breath, achingly taking another gulp of air as he heard a knock on the door. He didn’t bother replying; the others had respected his need for privacy so far and left him alone.

Which was why he didn’t expect the person to actually enter.

He looked up with a frown and a mean spark in his eyes. He didn’t want to see anyone, not anyone except the one person who couldn’t come through anymore and he-

He blinked several times, stunned. In the door stood the one person he would never _expect_ to show up. Then again maybe he should have. But he didn’t know what to expect these days. The future hadn’t been in his thoughts lately; the past was occupying his mind.

“Hello, Steve.”

The man in question still stared at the newcomer, too shocked to respond, thrown off, woken from his apathy.

Shock. It was the first emotion he felt outside of grief and anger he had been drowning in for past few days, drowned and numbed.

“Take that as a yes,” the blind man murmured and for a brief moment, Steve wondered if he was missing pieces of sentences and hadn’t heard Matt Murdock ask him if he could come in. He wouldn’t be surprised at that.

Matt took a seat next to the blond man, insolently invading Steve’s and your bed. Steve turned his head wordlessly, before he decided it didn’t matter; he would have to change the sheets eventually anyway. The ring, the ring and the quote mattered, you and him being ripped apart mattered.

“There was a woman…” Matt whispered, barely audible and Steve sighed, returning his full attention to the metal in his hands, determined to ignore whatever pep-talk was about to come, closing off his ears. “Her name was Elektra. She was something else.”

Matt cleared his throat and Steve found himself listening unwillingly.

“I met her when on college and… she was the first one to understand me. The… less civilized side of me. The angry one. The one that— that needed the adrenaline rush. We met at a party and it felt like fate. With her… and only with her, I felt truly free. I felt like my heart finally started beating as if I could finally breathe, something falling into place…”

Steve gulped, not, _not_ wanting to be intrigued, the ache in his own chest overwhelming, the sudden… the sudden inability to breathe, the exact opposite of what Matt was describing, the heaviness Steve felt ever since he saw the life escaping your body-

“…like my other half, as cheesy as it sounds,” Matt huffed a short silent self-depreciating laugh, and Steve couldn’t but agree with the phrase sounding  cliché. Only if he hadn’t been feeling the same with you… “Wasn’t pretty when she left. But she came back. If I skip the whole story about her actually being a stooge of my mentor, originally aiming for deceiving me and making me forget about law school and fight instead, which I only found about later, I get to the point where-…“

Steve heard Matt’s voice falter, heard the pain in his voice, somehow enwrapped in fog of time, and his own agony only grew. The knowledge of someone else hurting the same way he did, it didn’t ease the suffocating gas in his lungs.

“-where she died.”

Steve winced at the ugly D word. The movement didn’t go unnoticed by Matt, but he continued and Steve all but fought the urge to release an irritated huff.

And now the bullshit about time healing all the wounds would come. Steve really wasn’t ready to hear it.

“I closed off. Pushed away my friends. Convinced myself I’m never putting on my suit again, because that was why Elektra—… the katana was meant for me.”

_Jesus._

Okay, why was Steve listening to this in the first place? He had a woman of his own to mourn-

“I was really, really good at it. It came all too easy, shutting everyone down. But then…” the Devil chuckled, almost too light, too bright, disturbing the atmosphere in the shared room of lovers of which one was no longer among the living. “-then this little sneaky woman came knocking. She was… for some reason, she walked straight through all the walls I built. Melted them with her cold hands.”

Steve froze, his heart positively stopping.

Was that— was he really-? Tears stung in Steve’s eyes, recalling very clearly how you could melt an icy heart that didn’t seem to be beating, not truly. You had done the same for him. Made him feel things he hadn’t thought he could, easily navigating through the maze of his feelings (missing the most important one, obviously, because you two had been blinder than Matt Murdock ever could), aiming right in the middle… and winning his heart over.

“Somehow, Gerda found her way in. I don’t know how, but… she did. Made me feel again. Made me _want to_ feel again, to fight.”

Steve let out a bitter laugh, his hand senselessly offering Matt your ring to feel the engraving, slipping off his own for the other man to feel as well. He didn’t know what possessed him to do it; he wouldn’t let go of the precious piece of you for eternity and now he just handed it to the man who had once tried to take you away from him – before you were even his.

Matt silently traced the letters, not paying too much attention. It dawned to Steve you had probably told him what was written there. You had been telling him a lot of things, the relationship between you two always making Steve jealous, because it felt like there was a kind of a connection between you and Matt that Steve and you hadn’t shared, no matter how much others you had.

The poisonous feeling now seemed so petty. What wouldn’t Steve give to feel like this once again? Seeing you smile in Matt’s presence and feel the pang of jealousy? The one smile, your special smile you only had had reserved for the blind man? He would do anything to spent one more moment like that-

God, why did it hurt so bad? Why did you have to leave? How was this fair? You, _you_ from all people, with such a big heart, so kind, so loving, so good, a wife, a moth-

Matt delicately handed the rings back and Steve fingers grasped it immediately, releasing the breath he didn’t realized he had been holding. The vigilante took off his glasses, somewhat meeting Steve’s eyes. The warm irises almost startled the soldier – he had only seen it once or twice; they didn’t hang out often, let alone were feeling loose enough to make Matt lose his glasses in front of him. Then again, it always had been in your presence and Matt had always felt relaxed around you.

“The thing is, Steve... Gerda was my friend. And eventually she helped me start fighting again. Found reason to fight – or helped me navigate and find it myself. Because that’s what I do. I fight. I need it and I’m sure you understand the feeling. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there are always things worth fighting. And you and I both know you are not alone in this and— you have one extra reason to rush into battle.”

Steve looked away, running his hand down his face. An enormous lump grew in his throat; this time not only of sorrow, but also of shame.

He did have a reason, he knew, but he wasn’t able to face her just yet. _Grace Rogers. His daughter._ He hadn’t paid her any attention outside her mother’s belly, because… because when she had been born, you had been dying at the time. And then you had left this world. He hadn’t cared about the baby, as much as he knew it was wrong; because he had lost you. _You_. How could he ever accept that?

And deep inside… he couldn’t help but blame the little girl. As he blamed himself too.

“I’m not exactly the one to give advice, but… let her in, Steve. Let your friends in too. It’s… it wouldn’t be a crime. You won’t be betraying her by allowing yourself a piece of happiness. Holding your daughter in your arms. She must be an amazing human being if she only has taken a little after her mother,” Matt whispered gently, his voice cracking.

Steve let his tears roll down his cheeks, his eyelids falling shut. He had no doubt about that. It was just… he couldn’t-

“I have it from a reliable source that her father is one hell of a man too. You need to meet such an amazing human being, Steve. It doesn’t have to be right now. Take all the time you need. But you need to realize they grow really fast. You might miss her first word before you know it.” And with those words, Matt rose to his feet, silently making his way out.

Steve’s hoarse voice stopped him in the doorway. “I’m sorry. I… I know she meant a lot to you. Not just… the woman who gave her life for yours.”

Matt wavered, releasing a shaky breath. “Yeah. I- uhm… I would like to come to… to say goodbye when you hold the ceremony.”

Steve’s chest heaved at the thought. Ceremony meant the final acceptance that there was no coming back.

“Of course,” Steve confirmed lowly, earning sorrowful smile from the other man before he turned to leave. “And, Matt? Thank you.”

The blind man just nodded and then there was a click of the door and Steve was left alone again. As he would be for the rest of his life.

With sudden rush of urgency, he sprung to his feet, his world almost swaying with the quick movement. Steve ignored it in favour not to waste any more time.

Where would they keep Grace?

\---

It was too easy – she was kept in the common room. Mostly because she never left anyone’s arms. Bucky, Natasha and Bruce were with her, the redhead cradling gently as the tiny bundle of cries wouldn’t calm down. Steve couldn’t really see the baby as Natasha kept pressing her against her chest, but the sound of distress made his heart clench uncomfortably.

“She’s hungry,” Bucky noted, earning a growl from Natasha.

“She ate half an hour ago. She cannot be hungry.”

“Why not?”

Natasha was about to respond when she caught a glimpse of Steve’s figure hesitantly standing in the doorway.

“Dunno. Why don’t you ask the father?”

Bruce’s and Bucky’s head immediately snapped Steve’s direction and at instant, the soldier wanted to spin on his heels and disappear again.

“Hey, punk. Whaddaya think? Were you a hungry baby? ‘s she taken after you?”

Steve ignored the question, alarmed at the abrupt pace in which Natasha made her way to him; with the baby still in her arms. He had a hunch she was about to hand the burden and he wanted to escape, because he was _so_ not ready for that. His heart started racing.

And then there was a human being, _a crying_ and _very tiny_ human being shoved into his arms and he automatically wrapped his hand around it, terrified he would drop her.

“Natasha-“ he blurted out startled and the spy just gave him a pointed look.

“No time like now.”

Steve swallowed loudly, hoping his heart would return from his throat to his ribcage with the action. It didn’t.

He glanced at the bundle in his arms, cautiously peeking to glimpse a red face in all the cushions. God, he was about to drop her and cause her a concussion, he was sure of it.

“Steve, the baby isn’t going to explode. You can actually hold her,” Bucky snickered, apparently highly amused at Steve’s attempts.

Steve was _not_ amused.

Because he had just seen a little red of the baby’s face, the intrusive cry still hurting his ears and he frowned, trying to readjust his hold, bringing her closer to him. Was it just his imagination, or was she crying harder now? He should definitely return her to Natasha-

Except then the tinniest hand he had even seen appeared, finding its way out of the bundle and—and it went straight to his nose, incredibly small fingers spreading over the tip.

Steve gasped, blinking in surprise at the touch. More so at the realization that hit him and made his heart swell. This little human – growing in his wife’s belly for months – was now out. And very much alive and _real_. And they touched him. His head spun and tears found a way to his eyes again, this time for a different reason.

He readjusted his hold once again, slightly pushing the white fabric away to properly look at his daughter. The moment was so surreal and so magical. Her blown orbits found his, thin circle of the most beautiful colour – the colour of _your_ eyes – around them. Few tender light hair growing on her head, cute chubby cheeks— drying, he realized. She had stopped crying.

Fascinated, he watched her stick the thumb of her free hand in her mouth. It almost looked as if she was— no, she wasn’t smiling, right?

“Look at you, Cap, still making girls speechless even with the growing beard and lumberjack vibe,” Natasha hummed, amused.

Steve didn’t pay her any attention, frowning at the baby. Was she supposed to suck on her fingers? He wanted to fix it – and he did _not_ expect her to grip his index finger in a vice.

“Oh,” he breathed out in awe, amazed smile appearing on his lips unwittingly.

She was so strong and she wanted to hold onto his finger. Incredible. Breath-taking.

“Well, hello there. Is that a handshake? What’s your name, little one? Is it Grace?” he whispered tenderly, astonished when the little girl tugged on his finger, letting go off his nose in the process and released a bubbly sound that resembled-

“Hey! Did she just laugh?” Bucky called out, hurrying to them. Steve felt his smile grow. _She did. And she was beautiful when she did so._

“Hi, Grace. I’m… I’m your dad,” Steve stuttered, his throat closing off for some reason.

Shit, this was too much. Something was building in his chest and he couldn’t name it and it was suffocating him – and he would gladly let it. Especially since it made the little lady giggle again, her curious eyes roaming his face.

“You little traitor! I’ve been changing your diapers for _days_ now and you are smiling at _him?”_ Bucky hissed, his admonishing way too fond for anyone to believe he was being serious. “I want a raise.”

“She must be reacting to his voice. He’s been the one to talk to her the most,” Bruce noted kindly, and Steve was met with his gentle smile as he looked up to the scientist for a split second – before Grace tugged at his finger impatiently, apparently offended at the lack of attention.

“Not fair. Ever since you got all boosted up with the serum, you are stealing all the girls.”

Steve’s head snapped up at the remark, realization hitting him. He had no clue where it came from, but-

“Is she eating more than usual?”

Natasha frowned. “Hard to say. I don’t think so. Why?”

“She actually might be hungry. She could have inherited my metabolism, right? I have to eat more too,” Steve whispered, almost jumping as Grace whimpered at the startled note in his voice. “Hush now, shh, Sorry to scare you, little one.”

“You’re really good with her,” Natasha praised, shooting Bruce a curious smile. “Could he be right? Why didn’t we think of it?”

“So far, there was no manifestation – but of course she has your genes. That’s brilliant.”

“I guess you were too caught in the spiderweb of her charm to actually think. Look at you, babygirl, already messing with men’s head…”

As Bruce left with Natasha to discuss the idea, Bucky slowly stepped down too, letting Steve to meet his daughter properly. The Winter Soldier couldn’t help but feel the warmth around his heart as he saw his best friend so invested in cradling the child that he barely acknowledged the others leaving, too busy keeping a goofy smile on his face. He only noticed Bucky when Grace started sniffing, demanding food again – probably.

“Buck-“

“Already on it, punk. I wouldn’t want a Rogers to starve. They can get cranky when hungry. Speaking of which, you should eat something too. And she doesn’t count,” Bucky grinned, heating up a bottle. Steve watched the process peripherally, most of his focus on Grace.

“Later.”

Bucky raised his eyebrow. “Oh wow. That was fast.”

“What?”

Bucky gestured to the baby vaguely. “She totally has you wrapped around her tiny fingers already.”

Steve felt a pang in his chest at that, knowing all too well why was that. He looked at that cute face once more, mentally bracing himself to hand her over to Bucky to let him feed her – so Steve could watch, doing it by himself next time. He tenderly caressed her cheek with his fingertip and placed the softest of kisses on her forehead. It felt so natural.

As natural as it was for Grace to win over his heart. To navigate through its confusing maze, aiming straight to the middle, earning his affections so effortlessly, without even trying. It was way too easy to figure out why and how she had done it.

“Of course she does. She is her mother’s daughter, after all.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anika_Ann being a cheeky shit and letting Matt be the first person to use the word ‘rush’ in connection to Grace . Because Matt deserves the world.
> 
> Hopefully you enjoyed this (little trip to the future), even if it was rather an angsty one. But hey, the fluff came too! ;)
> 
> P.S. – I have homework/recommendation for you. If you haven’t yet, watch Gifted. It’s a wonderful movie with an amazing child lead and Chris is marvellous (plus really sweet and hot) in it. Extra points? Steve Rogers’ kid right here, see a tiny clip: https://www.facebook.com/GiftedFilm/videos/220188851832668/


	9. Close your eyes (and I’ll be on my way)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally listened to Leaving on the Jet Plane. Uhm. And were back to the present ;)

“We can’t tell Steve.”

“I beg your pardon?” Tony blurted out incredulously and if the situation would be any different, you would have rolled your eyes. It seemed to be a very popular phrase these days.

“Yeah, what Metalbrain said,” Sam supported immediately, watching you with the same disbelief.

“We… we can’t tell him. It’s a terrible mess already. We can’t tell him.”

Grace caught her trembling lip between her teeth, silently agreeing with you.

“I’m sorry, are you saying we’re not saving you from whatever is about to kill you? That’s why you don’t want Steve to know, right? Because he would do anything to save you. You can’t be serious, Frosty,” Natasha stated, her voice almost cold.

“Well…” Bruce opposed reluctantly, earning a sharp glare from the spy.

“Really, Bruce?”

“Yeah. _Really, Bruce?”_ new voice joined the conversation. You all jumped except Natasha, who smirked at Bucky’s figure in the doorway. “There is no way we’re letting Steve’s gal die.”

“Bucky-“ you protested tiredly.

“This isn’t a discussion! We’re not watching you die, Frosty. End of story.”

“You _can’t_ make such a decision, Bucky. Saving my life could turn the world – hell, the fucking universe – into one big black nothing. _That_ is not something we can allow.”

“Oh, but we can let _you_ turn into nothing and then watch Steve suffer, huh? You’re forgetting that at least two people here saw him after you turned to ash in front of his eyes. Not a pretty picture I imagine. Oh, and he’s asking about you, by the way. Surprisingly enough, he wants to see his fiancée after he’s almost died. It’s like he loves you or something. Has that crossed your mind, _Snowflake?”_

_Yes. Surprisingly enough, yes. Has it crossed your mind that it’s my own death we’re talking about and I’m not all eager to end my life, especially when knowing I’ll never meet my daughter? Huh? That this is really, really fucking hard for me?_

You swallowed the sharp words and sighed.

“I should go. We all should, so let’s dismiss this gathering – just so I know you won’t agree on bringing the end to the universe or something while I’m gone.”

\---

The sight of Steve, crumbled on the bed, dark circles under his eyes, the nose cannula, and wires leading to the heart monitor, his skin white as the sheets he was tucked in – it was enough to bring your heart a stop. Grace’s blood was still dripping into his bloodstream; her fast metabolism could speed up his healing, Bruce had said. It was his idea to transfer Steve’s daughters blood and you didn’t even question it, because who were you to do so. Why your daughter couldn’t save him once more, right? It was sickening how useless you felt.

Even with the picture of him, nearly screaming in pain, the substance almost swallowing his arm up, this sight still made you freeze in the doorway. It could have been seconds or minutes before his eyes registered you and his lips curled up in a very exhausted smile.

“Hey,” he rasped, clearing his throat loudly right after.

You forced your feet to move and you broke into a run, barely slowing down before you reached the bed and threw your arms around him. You hugged him as tightly as your positions allowed you. Steve let out a painful huff, but a weak laughter followed, his hand brushing your back as he tried to return your affection.

“Hey, Snowflake. I’m fine.”

He managed to stroke your lower back twice, before you let go of him, shooting him an incredulous look – your vision was blurry from tears, something that came without you noticing –but you could still see his soft expression. It stopped you from slapping his arm.

_“I’m fine,”_ you mimicked sarcastically and shoved him with minimal strength. He pouted– oh he must have been _so_ high on meds to pout, just how much Cho had to give him to affect his fast metabolism? Not important. “You almost died, you _jerk!_ Don’t you dare to ever scare me like that again!”

The moment the words left your lips, your hand stopped on its way to wipe away your tears.

The reminder of how scared you were for his life, the threat realer than ever, imagining how much pain you only guessed would come if his life would have truly ended that day… you suddenly understood why Natasha and Bucky had been protesting so loudly. If it was like this for them, losing you… hell, if it was like that for Steve – and you knew it was – of course they wouldn’t want to watch you die. There was no way they would stay away from this. But the consequences even if they succeeded-

Cold fingers curled around yours and you blinked back into reality, giving Steve a watery smile. He was lying almost on his deathbed, but his eyebrows furrowed in concern for you, creating a characteristic crinkle between them. You smoothened it with you free hand, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze.

“You’ll have early wrinkles, Captain,” you teased him to cover your discomfort.

He snorted and regretted the action the very next moment, judging by the groan that followed.

“Excuse you, I’m over hundred years old. I’m entitled. You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly. You had been wrong – he was not getting nearly enough meds if he was being observant like that.

“Duh. Of course I do, Steve. Have you seen yourself?” you asked him accusingly and he sighed, apologetic smile on his face.

“Bucky might have mentioned that I – and I quote – look like shit.”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong,” you whispered, leaning closer to Steve’s face. His eyes were fixed on yours, somewhat eager spark in them as if he knew what was about to come and he couldn’t wait. You carefully brushed his cheek with your fingers, dropping a tender kiss on his forehead before resting your own against it. “You really scared the shit out of me, Steve, I don’t think I’ll ever forget about how-- if Gr— if _Katie_ -“

You squeezed your eyes shut at the slip and shook your head, not even finishing the sentence. You could feel Steve’s curious gaze on you – of course he had noticed the slip. Not to mention he had no idea about Grace’s other power. Your mind raced as you were trying to come up with something that was as close to the truth as possible, yet leaving out the most important details. Like your future death. Or the fact Grace was your daughter. God, your _daughter._

You awkwardly cleared your throat.

“It’s not your place to worry about anything else but yourself right now. But Katie’s preferred name is Grace – her second name, actually-“ _LIE_. “-and she has an ability to stop time. Sort of. She basically saved your life – isolated your body from the rest of the world, from the time, which allowed Bruce and Cho to perform the surgery. Don’t… don’t try to make sense of it, trust me, it will only give you a headache.”

“Too late,” Steve hummed and you could tell by the startled beeping of the heart monitor that it really was.

_“Elsa, stop the make-out session. His heart needs to rest,”_ sounded Tony’s voice from above as he spoke to your through the system and you scoffed, dropping an actual kiss to Steve’s lips. He sighed contentedly.

“I don’t like her keeping secrets from us.”

“Actually, we know _that secret_ because she did share, and she shared just in time to save your life.”

His eyebrows shot up and you retreated. “I would ask since when you’re okay with keeping secrets and semi-sharing, but you do seem to be her best friend ever since she’s arrived. Or... more like an idol.”

You gulped as his eyes examined you curiously. He truly was awfully bright given his condition. Well. He wasn’t wrong at all. One would say Grace did feel that way about you… an idol. Something she only heard stories about.

Could anyone blame her for her behaviour?

You shrugged. “Sucks not to be the most popular one, huh?”

You didn’t fool Steve; his eyes narrowed suspiciously. You titled your head, smiling at him warmly. Your brilliant Captain – too bad that it was the last thing you needed right now.

“Steve, stop worrying your pretty blond head. You need to rest.”

He stared at you for a second, stunned. “…did you just tell me not to worry my pretty blond head?”

His baffled expression was hilarious. This whole situation was; perhaps you finally snapped and went crazy. You chuckled into your palm, nodding.

“That I did, Captain. But I mean it, Steve,” you said and kissed him lightly on his lips again. “You heal. That’s all you need to do now, okay? Let the rest of us worry about the rest.”

A discontent expression flashed over his face before his eyes softened. “Lie down with me?”

Your lips parted at the request, his quiet plea striking you straight to your heart. You glanced at the wires around him, trying to figure out if you were even able to comply with his wish. You kinda wanted to. To just lie next to him and cuddle him for eternity, the rest of world be damned together with all its problems – time traveling, inevitable fate and shit.

You found yourself wishing you could freeze the time too, or maybe come back to the less difficult times. You couldn’t do either though – but the cuddling was an option.

“Of course.”

You carefully climbed to the bed that was way too small for both of you, avoiding the wires, cannulas and bandages best as you could, and you melted into Steve’s side, laying your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes, enjoying your little moment of peace.

You had no idea how long you were lying like this before the sudden urge to speak up came, the thoughts in your head simply getting too loud for your liking.

“Steve?”

“Mm?” he hummed sleepily, pressing a sloppy kiss to your hairline.

“I love you. You have no idea how much, but please believe me I really, really do.”

You felt him stiffen at your side. His hand rose heavily, lifting your chin to him. You felt tears in your eyes again when you met his concerned gaze.

“Where is this coming from?”

_From the guilt of leaving you. In the future. Because I die. And I don’t want to say goodbye. I don’t want to die._

You shook your head, avoiding his searching gaze as he was observing you, suddenly wide-awake. You forced a smile and a shrug.

“Just wanted you to know that.”

His thumb caressed your cheek and then he pressed a little more, raising your chin and making you meet his eyes again.

“Snowflake, what is it? You know you can tell me-“

You silenced him with you index finger gently covering his lips. He frowned.

“It’s just… I guess it’s been a long day. And you— it just reminded me how precious life is, you know? How much we should… appreciate every goddamn minute, because the next one… we might not be here anymore.”

He let the words sink in and you licked your lips, heavy feeling in your stomach. Too much of a hint?

Before you could apologize for the sudden burst of emotion and your silly talk, Steve’s lips were on yours, caressing, engaged in a tender dance of love.

“You’re right,” he breathed into your mouth between the kisses, his voice soft, yet urgent. You ignored the way he sounded a bit funny with the nose cannula or the fact it bumped into you from time to time. “We should get away, at least for a while – just the two of us. Forget the world. Go to Tahiti… Fiji, anywhere. Just be. Some kind of a… pre-honeymoon.”

You drew in a surprised breath and Steve shamelessly used the opportunity to steal another kiss. You lost the train of your thoughts, any prepared answer forgotten. Not that there had been any.

“You’re serious?”

His blue orbits stared into yours, twinkling. “Yeah. We could use a break. And we can always call it my sick-leave.”

You scoffed at the terrible humour. “That’s not something you joke about. You’re such a dork.”

“Your dork?”

You pressed your lips together, a movement that seem to draw his attention like a magnet. _Well, someone is recovering quickly_. It was actually a relief. You smiled at him widely.

“Yeah. _My dork._ I wouldn’t give you up for the world.”

Not for the world. Your daughter on the other hand… well. Apparently, that was another case. But you could worry about that later.

\---

Grace slipped into the room silently, her breath hitching at the sight her eyes met with. You were curled by Steve’s side, one of your hands over his stomach, your head resting in the crook of his neck. You both looked so peaceful and content despite the fact Steve’s life had been on the line just a little over few hours ago.

It brought tears to her eyes; it was the… serenity, the pure tenderness on both of your faces, especially on Steve’s.

Grace didn’t remember seeing him like this, ever; it was always there, the shadow of loneliness and melancholy. It had taken her a while before she had noticed, she needed to get old enough to understand. She had, after a while.

Or she thought so until this very moment – until seeing how happy he was with you, she never truly understood. She saw it now. How… how wrong her own existence was – how she had torn apart something so beautiful.

She covered her mouth to muffle the sob that threatened to escape her lips. She almost jumped when a warm hand landed on her shoulder gently.

“We’ll find a way, Grace. We will,” Wanda’s low voice soothed her and Grace just shook her head.

“Look at them! I… I should have never been born. If- if I knew a way of… of preventing that, even if it meant I’m never alive, I would do it. I-- I broke this. I broke _them_ , I shouldn’t-“

“No. That’s not right. It’s… it was your father who once told us that we don’t trade lives like this, Grace. And he was right.”

Grace let out a shaky watery laugh. “Yeah, I heard about that. It only makes me hate myself more. Because I was the one to show him he was actually wrong. I was the one who took— who took the love of his life from him. Mom-”

“We will find a way to fix this without blowing up the universe. Who else if not us? Hell, we have more allies than ever. We will find a way for your mother to survive.”

Grace finally turned to her aunt, tears rolling down her cheeks. Wanda was watching her with her own eyes glassy, but with a determination written all over her face.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I have faith, Grace. I… I was once forced to— to kill Vis. Only to watch him being resurrected and destroyed a few seconds later. I myself turned into dust. And here we stand, because my family saved us – a family that isn’t even tied with a blood-bond. Imagine what we will do for someone who actually is.”

“…he will hate me. If we tell him, he will hate me, I still think he does sometimes, deep inside, he-“

“Just wondering – have you ever asked me? In the future, I mean. If I feel him _hating_ _you?_ ”

“…yes,” the blonde whispered hoarsely, lowering her gaze.

“And did he hate you?”

“No. Not that you’ve told me.”

Wanda smiled at the time-traveller reassuringly. “See? I wouldn’t lie to you, Grace, I’m sure. There’s no way Cap would ever hate his daughter.”

Grace inhaled shakily, closing her eyes shut as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Isn’t that right, Steve?” the Sokovian continued and Grace snapped her head to the bed, alarmed.

Only to find a pair of bright blue eyes staring back.  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanda for the win O:-)
> 
> Also, it’s always better to drive a relationship to its very fluffiness before tearing it apart, right? The years of watching DC’s TV series are taking a toll on me… Flashforward no.2 is coming next ;)
> 
> Thank you for your support, it means a world to me ♥


	10. From Mars to Venus and Back

_"I wish mom was here instead of you! She would have let me!"_

The words were replaying in Steve’s head for the millionth time and yet they were still cutting into his heart as if she said them for the first time.

_‘I wish mom was here instead of you.’_

In moments like this… Steve wished you were more than ever. He was the lucky one to get some time to spend with their daughter, he was the one lucky enough to be alive, but sometimes… sometimes the dark thoughts overwhelmed him and he couldn’t see the appeal.

He missed you. God he missed you so badly, not just like a mother to his child – who was far from a child now, nearing her sweet sixteen – but as a friend, as a partner as… as a lover too. Heavy pit was settled in his stomach, his chest felt like in a vice. Sometimes he missed you so badly he could barely breathe.

It was exhausting to wear the façade – while there were moments he was genuinely happy, it seemed impossible not to feel the absence. Every time he felt the light of laugh and happiness wash over him, the longing followed soon enough. A silent wish you could be there with him to witness your daughter’s first steps, first school day, the day she controlled some of her power for the first time-

His fingertips traced your features in the picture unwittingly and he felt fresh tears roll down his cheeks, the loneliness washing over him like a tide wave, flooding his lungs and making his ribcage burn. You looked beautiful in the photo – your usually lean figure was just slightly affected, only making the delicious curves of your body stand out; perfected by the round belly Steve’s hands was lovingly covering with his palm, his lips pressing a chaste kiss to your temple.

The photo was an equivalent of joy and love – an empty promise of more delight coming. It had come; but no matter how much Steve cherished the chance to hold his daughter, he all too often couldn’t help the feeling that the blessing came with too high of a price. Your life. If he had known– if he had known from the moment you had announced him you were pregnant, that you would die, would he do anything differently? Would he willingly give up the miracle of another life, piece of him and you, growing under your heart? If he had known how many beautiful moments Grace would bring?

A loud knock stopped that train of thoughts and Steve quickly wiped away his tears, setting the photo aside, picture down.

“Yeah?”

Dammit, his voice sounded too hoarse. He cleared his throat in poor attempt to fix it.

He couldn’t supress the disappointment when the redhead woman appeared in the doorway instead of his daughter. He was secretly hoping Grace would come and… maybe even apologize for what she had said several hours ago.

But guess she wouldn’t, right? She had nothing to apologize for. It was how she felt. She meant it. She would prefer her mother to be alive, even if it would mean Steve himself wouldn’t be. It wasn’t a fair trade, but he would be a hypocrite if he claimed that this thought (or the thought of choosing between Grace and you) had never crossed his mind, no matter how ashamed he always felt after.

It was logical. Grace was a woman and especially lately, Steve sensed that a distance started growing between him and his daughter, he couldn’t replace or even _try_ to replace her mother and… and it hurt. But truth often did. He could only wonder whether he was being a decent father at least, for god’s sake.

“This better not be a self-pity I’m sensing, Rogers.”

Steve sighed, letting his head fall into his palms. No Grace meant no fixing things, but it also meant he didn’t necessarily need to pretend to be strong.

“Am I terrible father, Natasha?” he asked quietly and he could hear her sharp inhale before the door clicked behind her and she almost soundlessly moved to sit next to him on the bed.

“No,” she replied simply, her voice gentler than before.

It wasn’t enough to make him look up. Because of course she would say that. Natasha wasn’t known for using kinder gloves too often, bit she had tact. She could easily recognize a moment she needed to show her softer side, compassion, and when she needed to provide some tough love.

"You're doing an amazing job, Steve. Grace loves you."

Steve scoffed, but somehow, the noise came out more like a sob. "Yeah? If you would have heard her-"

"I think the whole Tower heard her."

Steve just groaned into his palms, his dignity buried somewhere together with his self-confidence.

"But you are doing great, Steve. I mean it,” she whispered, shortly squeezing his arm. There was a hint of a promise in her tone that actually caught Steve’s poor attention. He let his hands fall, slowly raising his gaze to her face. Her expression was soft as she reached into the pocket of her jeans. “And I have a prove."

Steve frowned as she lit up the screen, a one-sided conversation appearing. His lips parted.

**_Nat._ **

**_Aunt Natty, help, please._ **

**_I screwed up. I screwed up ROYALLY. I said the worst thing ever and I have no idea how to fix it._ **

**_Please, how do I apologize to dad?_ **

**_Please, Nat. He hates me now. I would swear I saw tears. I made dad CRY._ **

**_I know that he cries sometimes when I’m not looking, but he would never let me see. And now he couldn’t keep it together. I'm such an idiot and the worst daughter ever._ **

**_Please, help me fix it. Please, I don’t want him mad at me. I don’t want him to be sad. He doesn’t deserve that._ **

**_I can’t believe I hurt him like this. I’m so stupid._ **

**_Please, Nat._ **

"See? “ Natasha’s voice sounded from an indescribable distance, so, so far from Steve’s world that had shrank into a phone. His ribcage suddenly allowed him to breathe in properly. “You... you raised an observant woman capable of compassion, reflecting her own mistakes, loving and kind. And she's strong too, Steve. She's an amazing kid. But even amazing kids enter puberty and let’s be honest, we all say things when angry we regret later. Grace could not wish for a better father and she knows it damn well. She adores you."

“…it doesn’t change a thing about me being— I used to think we had moments we understood each other, had a connection, but lately it’s just… it’s like she’s from another universe.”

“She is, Steve. It’s called puberty.”

Steve didn’t laugh.

“Look, Steve… I know it’s hard to believe it sometimes, but you _are_ really good at this. Raising a child is… it’s incredibly difficult. Doing that as a single parent? Even harder. And raising a girl when you’re a man – _and_ she hits that stage of puberty? Just talk to Clint. He would love to complain about Lila. You’ll either laugh your ass off or you’ll cry, because you’ll see yourself in him so much,” she chuckled, a soft smile appearing on her lips.

“When you add the whole Captain America and Avengers things in the mix, and her powers… you’re a whole new kind of hero. It’s like everything that could have gone wrong, that could have make it harder for you, did. And here you are, your daughter regretting that she made you doubt yourself, because she loves you, Steve. And I think she believes that you are the best father ever.”

Steve was staring ahead, his mind a huge mess, but calming down. When Natasha listed it all like that… he had to admit the universe had not made it exactly easy for him in the first place. He could swear to God that he was trying his best and… Grace caring about him, hell, caring about his _feelings_ , it should have given him a reassurance that his efforts had not been completely wasted. But he was reluctant to allow himself to be calmed. To let the feeling sink in.

And even if Natasha was right, it still didn’t fill the empty place in his heart. But he couldn’t have everything he wanted, could he?

“Thank you, Natasha,” he mumbled absently, unable to meet her gaze. He could still see her compassionate smile in front of his eyes.

“You’ll believe me, Steve. And if not me, believe her.” She shot Grace a short text and caressed Steve’s arm. Steve forced a small smile. “I told her to just talk to you. I’m not sure how much time it will take her to woman up.”

“Not too long, I think. She’s after her mother.”

“Well, she’s after her father too, so she should be knocking any second,” Natasha joked lightly and let her lips brush over Steve’s forehead as if she was the parent here. “You’re not alone in this, Steve. Don’t forget that, _Otets_.”

\---

She entered his room with her eyes glassy, biting her bottom lip, nervous as hell. She looked as if she expected Steve to shout her out before she could even open her mouth to speak – which said something, alright, Steve wondered if he had ever given her the impression of him being capable of that.

She ended up sitting on her knees in front of him, looking up at him with her – _yours_ – sincere eyes, words spilling from her mouth, barely making a sense.

The message was very clear though:

_I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Please, please forgive me._

Steve gulped, his heart swelling in his chest, his own tears threatening to spill. Maybe Natasha had been right? Grace did love him and he wasn’t such a terrible dad after all? One glance at his daughter kneeling in front of him gave him the answer. He tentatively, reached out, patting her hair lightly.

“Thank you, Grace. It… it means a lot, that apology,” he creaked and managed to break a little smile for her.

She smiled at him shyly as well, tears still in her eyes. She looked so much like you, that little broken smile full of regrets… she pressed her lips together when she couldn’t bear Steve’s gaze anymore and her eyes caught a glimpse of the photo turned the picture down next to him. She tilted her head, her hand automatically twitching its direction.

“Can I?” she whispered and Steve only nodded, letting her reach for the photo. Her breath hitched when she saw it, her eyes widening in awe. She couldn’t tear her gaze away. “How have I never seen this? It’s beautiful!”

Steve gave her a watery smile, a bit moved by the way she was looking at the photo; he wondered if he looked the same, his eyes full of awe and love. Grace’s lips were subtly parted as she raised her gaze. The lump in Steve’s throat only grew bigger.

“I… I kept it for myself. When— when I find it difficult to… reach you, I look at it, wondering what your mom would do.”

Grace bit her lip, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. “You both look so happy. I… I hate that I broke it. That I-“

“Hey, hey now, none of that, babygirl. You didn’t break anything. That’s not on you.”

“But-“

“Hush,” he shushed her in a teasing way, bringing a fake smile on her lips. “She always said you were her little miracle. _Ours._ She wasn’t wrong.”

“Dad, can I have a hug?” she sobbed, setting the picture down delicately, hoping he would give her the sweet protective embrace she just craved for.

“Since when do you need to ask?”

“Since I’m being a bitch.”

Steve couldn’t help but let out a huffed laugh, remembering only then that he needed to be the adult here. “Language, dear.”

“Sorry, dad.”

\---

They sat on the bed for hours, side by side, Grace resting her head against his shoulder. A content smile played on her lips as Steve kept telling stories about you; because she had asked him too. It looked like he would never run out of them and— and Grace loved the expression on his face when he talked about you. It was when he spoke in the softest voice, loving, and fond of every little memory. Even with the droplets of sadness soaking through.

“She would forgive you, you know,” Grace whispered, earning a curious gaze and confused frown.

“Forgive what?”

She bit her lip. She was entering dangerous territory here, but… she felt like she should.

“If you… if you let yourself to be happy.”

“I am happy, Grace,” he stated firmly and she could feel his body stiffen as he understood what she was talking about.

“…you know what I mean, dad. If… I would never want anyone to replace mom. _Ever_. Not even for you, but… it’s okay. She would want you to find someone to… to share everything with, to love again.”

“Grace…” he whispered, clearly wanting to distance himself from the topic, sighing.

“Sorry, I don’t— I can’t imagine what it’s like. It’s just… Aunt Wanda has Uncle Vis, Nat has Bruce, Tony has Pepper, Clint has Laura, Sam has Gina. Hell, even Bucky has a girl and you two are OTP for way too many people.”

Steve frowned harder. “What’s an OTP?”

“You’re so better off not knowing— no, wait, actually. It stands for One True Pairing. It’s a term used on the internet for a pair you’re a fan of, of whom you ultimately believe should be together, because they are perfect for each other, or would be. For me… it’s you and mom. Always. But lots of other relationships aside an OTP work too. And people are happy in them. You deserve to be happy, dad.”

Steve stared at her face for a while, speechless, his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. And a memory of a conversation he and Matt Murdock had shared such a long time ago came to his mind.

_‘They grow up very fast…’_

“If I ignore few things, I cannot believe you said that. When did you become so smart?”

“Since I’m my father’s and my mother’s child,” she shot back, a little confident smirk on her lips.

“Sassy little lady,” he murmured, his arms sneaking around her shoulder to press her a bit tighter to his side. She reciprocated the hug fully. “Thank you, Grace. This permission means a lot too. It’s just… I don’t think I need it.”

“ _Everyone_ needs it. Even asexual people need it.”

Steve blinked, _slightly_ startled at his daughter saying the word ‘sex’, even as a part of another word. What did that mean anyway?

“I’m gonna pretend I know what that means. But you’re banned from the internet,” he announced seriously and Grace, the little rebellious traitor, just grinned,

“No, I’m not. And you’re only saying that, because I’m right.“

Steve sighed again, wishing to just leave the topic alone. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to… he missed a woman in his bed, but… he missed _you_. Always. Every night. And he didn’t want anyone else.

“I don’t need a woman, Grace. I… I still love your mom.”

“It’s been almost sixteen years, dad. You deserve to…” she hesitated, clearly swallowing several words and Steve didn’t even want to think about where her mind wandered, because… ugh. Nope. Not having this conversation with his daughter. _Ever._ Not about his own intimate life, no thank you, birds and bees had been enough of a traumatic experience. “…go on with your life.”

“I’m happy as I am. Now drop it and go to bed. You have school tomorrow.” He patted her arm, letting go of her.

Only to see her not moving an inch beside biting her lip.

“…can I sleep here?”

The question made him pause for several reasons, his eyebrows shooting almost to his hairline. What kind of a question was that?

“Aren’t you a bit old for that?”

The truth was, the main reason for Steve’s hesitation was that he didn’t know _he_ could handle that. It had been too long since someone slept beside him and no matter how much he hated cold bed without a presence of somebody else – _you –_ he got used to it. Grace had stopped sleeping in his bed several years ago, and even then it had been only when she had a terrible nightmare.

“I just… I just want to make sure you won’t leave,” Grace admitted, clearly ashamed as blood rushed to her cheeks, her gaze pinned to the floor.

Steve’s ribcage ached at the sight and at the fear she must have felt. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know that feeling…

“Oh, babygirl, I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured, pulling her into a hug once more.

“I know— I- know you wouldn’t leave on purpose, it’s just-“

Well, it looked like he needed to bite the bullet. Hell, he should be grateful. About an hour ago, he had thought his daughter hadn’t wanted to share a blood-bond with him, let alone a room.

“Yeah, yeah, you can sleep here, okay?”

“Thank you so much!” she yelped into his chest, squeezing him into a vice.

Steve blinked at the display of affection and ran his hand down her back gently.

_Okay, maybe not so bad father after all,_ he guessed. It made him burst with pride and for a moment, he hoped you were watching this from above.

“You’re welcome, babygirl. I love you.”

“I love you too, dad.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now here comes more fluff and angst :D


	11. The (only) solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings? Angst. Omg, so much angst. Aka the present.
> 
> Please, don’t kill me. I’m not in a good place right now, but not that much of a bad place either.

Steve was pissed. Like really, _incredibly_ pissed, and what was worse, disappointed and betrayed – mostly ignoring the fact that there was his child from the future in front of him, stubbornly focused on the little detail of you knowing you would die and not sharing it with him.

He mercilessly shook you awake and you jolted on the bed, horrified what had happened, only to find Steve’s blues burning a hole into you with his glare.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong? Are you okay?!” you blurted out, quickly scanning the room, looking for any danger.

You only found Wanda and Grace there, standing few feet from your shared bed; Wanda was smirking, while Grace was biting her lip nervously, seemingly guilty.

A horror squeezed your heart, still feeling Steve’s glare, not to mention his surprisingly strong grip on your wrist under the mess of covers. You gulped against the impossibly large lump in your throat, your pulse hammering in your temples.

No, no, no, they wouldn’t, they _couldn’t—_ fucking shit, they so totally _did._

“Oh no… what did you do?” you whispered, Steve’s hold on you getting honestly painful.

“The better question is… what the fuck did you think you were doing?”

Well. You really didn’t have the answer for Steve’s question, did you?

\---

Steve had insisted he hadn’t needed the monitors anymore. You had had no clue if it was the adrenalin from the big revelation, but he had indeed seemed in full strength and determined to have a shout-match he would definitely win.

Most of the others, while sharing his sentiment, were less hot-headed.

You all gathered in the common room to resolve the final problem – your death or your survival and its effect on the universe. Which sounded insane, but somehow was a real issue.

Natasha, Sam, Wanda, Bucky and Steve were over hundred percent sure you needed to be saved at any cost.

Bruce, Tony, Clint, Vision and… well, you, were in for your death, no matter how much you all hated it.

Of course, Grace was torn, but having explained the possible consequences too many times before time-travelling to her, she was siding with you.

And the fight – while Sam was gracefully calling it a discussion – was now going for ages and you had enough. You were exhausted from fighting for something you didn’t want to happen, but unlike some of your friends knew that in fact _had to_ happen.

“I’m sorry, but do I have to remind you the last time someone wanted to change the will of the universe to their own purpose? Because I will. Half of the population got erased,” you said slowly, barely keeping your voice somehow levelled. “I’m not the only that lived through being turned into ash, so please, remember how it felt. Anything like this happening again? Not something I want on my conscience.”

Steve’s eyes watched you, glassy, a sea of emotions, deep and dangerous. Full of rage and determination, yet sad and desperate. He didn’t want to give in. Everything was screaming at him that you were right, that they— that they simply had to let it happen, because the last time he had refused to sacrifice one life in exchange for many more, what you described had happened. Even when they managed to mostly reverse it, the scars left on their souls were very deep.

But how could he make such a choice? How could he— how could he pick between you and your _daughter (what the **hell** )_ with potentially millions of others? _How?_ If it was anyone else, he would be crushed, fighting it too, but-- this was you. Killing _you_ just wasn’t an option.

You closed your eyes and spun on your heels to escape that accusing glare and spoke the words you had to: “You have to let me d-“

“No,” Steve choked out, the one syllable sounding like a scream in the scarily silent space.

You sighed, turning to him once more, only to see his back when he paced out of the room. The door shut behind him with enough force to shake the doorframe and you ran your fingers through your hair, eyeing your entire companion. Your whole team. Your whole _family_. They all watched you with torn expressions, but Grace’s and Bucky’, they were just heart-breaking. You could only guess how many times Grace had seen – would see – him like this. And Bucky…

“I’ll talk to him,” you muttered under your breath, not surprised no one stopped you as you went after your fiancé.

You found him in the hall, leaning onto the wall with his palms, his head hanging down; right next to his hands, there were holes as he must have punched through.

You bit your lip, tears stinging your eyes as you took in his face – twisted in a grimace, his jaw set so tight he might as well break it with the force.

“Steve,” you addressed him lowly, daring to take few steps closer, worried he might pull away. But he didn’t; he didn’t react at all. You gulped. _“Steve.”_

“You can’t ask me to do that.”

Your heart clenched painfully at the icy voice, barely holding the overwhelming emotions locked up. You closed your eyes, inhaling shakily.

“Steve-“

“You _can’t_ ask me to do that, _Snowflake_ ,” his voice trembled, breaking at the tender nickname he had given you such a long time ago. “You can’t expect me to just— just stand there and _watch_ , that’s not-“

“-fair?” you finished instead of him and at that, his piercing blue eyes met yours, the force of his gaze almost knocking you down.

“You wanna tell me you would have done it? If it was the other way around, if it was up you to… to deliver a death sentence to me, that you would have?”

You looked away, not even wanting to _think_ about it. It was like a twisting a knife in a gaping wound, trying to breathe in water, chasing ghosts. But it was also very theoretical and as much as you wanted to be a rock for Steve now, you couldn’t.

“I don’t have to, Steve. Because the situation is just the way it is and not the other way around.”

His fist slammed into the wall again, significant pieces of plaster snowing to the floor. But in all honesty, it wasn’t what scared you. It was the raging glint in Steve’s eyes as he paced to you, his hands trapping you between his body and the wall. You instinctively backed out, until your brain caught up with the reality, in which this was Steve and he would never hurt you.

You looked up to his face; he was glaring down at you.

“Well, be glad, because the choice is fucking impossible.”

Maybe it was the cursing, so uncharacteristic for him. Maybe it was this whole situation finally getting to your very core. Maybe it was staring at the bottom of Steve’s soul through the clouds of anger, finding a desperate scrawny boy feeling powerless and disappointed in himself for not being able to defeat the monster about to hurt you. You didn’t care which it was.

You snapped.

“Really, _Steven?_ Am I supposed to be _glad?_ Do you envy me?” you hissed, pushing down the sudden urge to spit in his face as your blood boiled. “Do you envy me that I’m gonna die? That I’ll never meet my daughter? Gonna miss her first steps? Her first day in school? First crush? All of her happy moments, all of her heart-breaks? Do I look like I’m shining in joy at the idea of leaving all of you, knowing you’ll grieve me? Do you think I’m enjoying this? Really? Because let me tell you, _Captain_ , this is _everything_ but easy for me!”

Peripherally, you could see his hands ball into fists again, but all you could focus on was the twitch of his lips down, the windows to his soul falling shut. He whispered your name, lowly and pained and you realized there were tears in your eyes, finding a path down your cheeks. You were panting, the short shot of anger silencing, and all you could see was a broken man in front of you.

Blindly, his palms found your face, holding it tenderly, trembling as they wished to hold it tighter – maybe tight enough to save you from fading away. His forehead leaned against yours heavily, few salty drops escaping his eyes too.

“Please, _please_ , Snowflake. Don’t— don’t make me do this, I can’t-- I _can’t_ do this, I lost you once and then I got you _back_ , I-“

Your hand cupped his jaw gently, your thumbs tenderly running over his skin, but that was all you could do. You had no words of comfort. No words of reassurance. Not unless you would want to lie and you didn’t. There was no escape. No loophole.

And you both knew it.

 _“I’m sorry,”_ you breathed nonsensically, your voice shaking and Steve’s chest rumbled with a choked sob.

His eyes snapped open, pools of blue just for you to drown in. Except this time, it felt like he was drowning too. His thumbs caressed you cheeks, smearing the tears.

“I can’t just stand by while you’re— how can we not fight it? How can we do _anything_ from now on, just go on with our lives knowing that-- that you-“

His whispers cut into your ears, making them bleed, but it was the tormented sound of his voice, the words, that lighted up your brain with a solution like a light bulb all of sudden.

“What if— what if you didn’t? What I didn’t? I can’t imagine being pregnant and just _knowing_ that- that I’ll-- die so soon.“

“What are you saying?” Steve whispered and you could almost feel the ray of hope that illuminated his heart, making it beat again.

It was breaking your own even more, because it was not a miraculous idea that hit you, not a solution to prevent your death while keeping the balance of the universe or whatever. You _wished_.

“What if we… didn’t know?”

“W-what?”

“Between Wanda, Vision, Bruce and Tony, there has to be a way to forget-“

Steve’s hands fell off your face and he stumbled backwards, watching you with accusing gaze, almost disgusted.

“You-“ he rasped, his hand plunging into his hair, clutching tightly as he turned around. As if couldn’t even look at you.

“Steve, come on, you know that’s the only solution. If we… if we don’t remember any of this— I won’t spend the rest of my life worrying over each day, you won’t either. You won’t feel guilty for letting it happen, we can get the vacation we talked about, we can be happy, carefree-“

“ _Clueless_ , Snowflake. The word you’re looking for is ‘clueless’,” he spitted out, watching you like a hawk; a very wounded hawk. “You can’t be serious.”

You threw your hands in the air. “You have a better idea?”

“Yes!” he growled. “I mean— no, not _yet_ , but when I come up with a plan, it will end with you being alive!”

“There is no such plan and you now it!” you cried out, hitting the wall as well. “If there was, Grace wouldn’t be here anymore. The truth is that I’m gonna die and if you love me, you’re gonna let me have the rest of my days in peace and happiness, _clueless,”_ you finished in a whisper, looking up into Steve’s wide eyes with silent plea.

For minutes, you just stared at each other with your breathings ragged, drinking in the sight of your loved one you would lay your life for.

You weren’t sure who was the first one to move, but you suspected it was him. You crossed the distance in hesitant steps as he raised his arms in an invitation. You fell into his embrace, feeling exhausted, trying to indulge the feeling of being so close after what felt like an eternity. He held you so securely you could barely breathe, his fingers playing with your hair gingerly. You could feel the warm tears on your scalp and you didn’t bother hiding yours either, letting them sink into his t-shirt.

“I love you, Snowflake. I— I love you.”

“I love you too, Steve.”

“Please, don’t leave,” he whispered stubbornly, like a child, yet like a man who knew his pleas would change nothing.

You squeezed your eyes shut, your fingers griping his t-shirt as if it could help you stay. You were thinking so fucking hard, trying to find the right words to say, but you were never good with words.

“You know this isn’t some ‘fuck you, fuck us’ attitude right? You know we’re doing the right thing?”

“Right things suck,” he growled, tensing for what could be a second before melting into your form again, making it difficult for you to recognize where his body started and yours ended.

You smiled against your will, a little sad attempt of your lips as you remembered you had once told him the same.

“They do. But you’re gonna do it anyway, which makes you the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

A choked noise rumbled in his chest, but otherwise he didn’t react.

“Yeah, well, try to be the one who will erase your memories,” Wanda hummed from behind your back and despite all laws of logic, despite feeling like a coward and a culprit… you were calm.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, they are so going to conceive Grace on the pre-honeymoon. Totally. Uhm…
> 
> I’m sorry? One more flashforward – a bit shorter and less angsty, I promise, fluffy even, maybe a bit funny – and then an epilogue.


	12. I need a hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashforward no.3
> 
> Alternatively: The First Time Grace Rogers Saved Her Father and Proved She Was Her Parents’ Daughter

Steve wasn’t even sure what the gala was for, only being certain it wasn’t for celebrating Grace’s birthday – because he wouldn’t miss _that_. It was one of those head honchos party Tony threw from time to time, mostly for courtesy. Avengers PR. Keeping people on their good side.

While Steve didn’t exclusively mind, he couldn’t say he was enjoying it either. Grace was somewhere in the crowd, smiling politely or laughing at (usually Sam’s) jokes and he caught her bright eyes from time to time as his (and no matter how much he hated it, hers too) teammates danced with her. She was beauty. She was grace. She was sunshine in the dark place. She was a fighter too, he knew, but not tonight.

Steve found it hard to mingle in the large crowds. While people still approached him, something must have radiated from him, giving his attitude away, the false smile hinting them to keep their distance.

Once again, for the millionth time, he found himself missing you. He was no dancer, but you would have convinced him to at least sway for one or two songs, and he wouldn’t even mind that people would be watching you two, possibly thinking you were being ridiculous. The light in your eyes would make him forget about all the noisy looks and his own awkward moves.

So he had parked his behind at the bar, occasionally doing the necessary small talk, otherwise keeping an eye on Grace or talking to Natasha, who was behind the bar for the evening.

And on rare occasion, he would have to deal with very unpleasant company.

The woman had been talking his ear off for the past few minutes – or was it hours? It felt like hours – apparently not minding the lack of his attention.

She completely ignored the lonely-wolf aura the others seemed to pick up on.

She was also very loud.

And she was starting to be tactile, putting a hand on his forearm and bicep.

And most importantly, she seemed a bit inebriated. Then again, the women these days still managed to confuse Steve occasionally. Maybe she was just that forward.

She leaned to his ear – unexplainable gesture since she didn’t bother lowering her voice – her hand on him again.

"Come on, handsome. I'm flexible – in all senses of the word-"

"Madam-" Steve started, having just enough of her, trying to figure out how to get her off his back without being too rude if possible. But she wouldn’t take the hint.

"Yes, Sir? Or, yes, Captain?" She giggled in response and Steve closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and mentally counted to ten. _Don’t be rude. Don’t be mean…_ , echoed in his head, with barely any effect. "I can call you anything you want. Soldier. Even a-"

"Daddy?"

Steve froze at the voice and the hand on his other shoulder. The touch of his companion immediately disappeared.

Natasha behind the bar barely held back a snort as the ‘flexible woman’ choked on her own spit. _The timing._ It wasn’t a public knowledge that Steve and Grace were related, let alone so closely. Oh god, this was _golden_.

"Hi, babygirl, is everything okay?" Steve asked his daughter with concern.

This time Natasha did let out a strangled sound, disguising it as a cough. Steve was either oblivious to the beautiful double meaning or used the endearment on purpose. Probably not the latter, because Steve Rogers was not capable thinking that way about his daughter, not even when joking. Grace, on the other hand, definitely went with the addressing on purpose, Natasha was sure of it.

"Oh yuck... old pervert..." the woman mumbled as she took an abrupt leave, blind to the highly amused faces and one confused, belonging to the captain.

" _Now_ it is. How are enjoying the party?"

"Less than you, apparently," Steve replied, but quickly dropped his sarcastic tone as if he realized whom he was talking to. He smiled even as Grace took the seat after the ‘flexible woman’. "You danced. That's good."

Grace chuckled. "Yeah. With Tony, Sam and Bucky, because no one outside the family would dare to ask with the line of bodyguards behind my a- _back_. I think Peter is gathering some courage… the whole evening. We’ll see how that goes. You didn't dance though."

"No one asked," he shrugged. "No one dances with over hundred and fifteen years old man."

"Barnes older than you. And Miss Flexible sure seemed eager,” Natasha noted with a grin and Steve shot her a murderous glare she ignored in favour to prepare Grace a non-alcoholic drink.

"She was a bit much," Grace corrected her and Natasha just smirked.

"You know, you could have saved me, Romanov."

"And miss the fabulous rescue delivered by your daughter? Nah. Plus, you finally need to get back to the saddle."

Steve stiffened as the conversation took his least favourite turn. He mentally scolded himself – he totally waked into that.

"But clearly not with _her_. She was terrible, dad. I'll find you a better one. Any tips, Nat?"

"The brunette in the corner has been eyeing him," Steve shot Nat another glare as she beckoned inconspicuously to someone, probably some _brunette_. "But not necessarily in a predatory way."

"...in _what?"_

"Which one?" Grace pried, looking around almost animatedly.  

"Blue dress."

Grace glanced – presumably – at the woman, while Steve stubbornly kept glaring ahead of himself. Only to be betrayed coldly. "I approve."

"Grace!"

"What? We talked about this, dad."

"Exactly, _young lady._ We did. If I enter a relationship, it will be when I'm ready. On my own terms," he repeated for the hundredth time, narrowing his eyes a little when looking into her eyes. She pouted, but didn’t push this time and took a sip of her drink.

"Fine. Can I have a dance at least? Please?"

"Grace..." Steve sighed, not feeling like entering the dance floor.

The irony was not lost on him though; the only woman he wanted to dance with shared genes and name with the woman – and Steve had to slowly start accepting she was much more of a woman than a girl – who was asking him now.

"Pretty, pretty please! I promise to leave your love-life alone for the evening!"

"You're gonna do that anyway, you know. And not just for the evening."

"You're so stubborn," she exclaimed, still watching him with pleading eyes. Steve felt himself cracking under the puppy look she was attacking him with, but tried to resist a little longer, even when knowing it was probably pointless.

"Clearly you’ve taken after me," he mumbled. Apart from the puppy eyes; that talent was definitely from her mother’s side.

 _"Clearly_. Dance with me, dad? Please?"

Steve gave up. "Well, how could I say no to the beautiful lady with those hopeful eyes..."

"Yes!" she chanted, immediately sliding from her stool and taking his hand to pull him towards the dance floor.

"I still can't dance, you know…"

"I don't care,” she sing-sang and Steve couldn’t help but smile fondly. She was so vivid and amazing he couldn’t believe he was his daughter sometimes.

He wasn’t sure what do to with his hands, but settled with lightly placing one on her hip and the other against hers. She smiled wildly and started swaying to the rhythm of a song Steve failed to recognize.

“You’re so full of it! You’re doing great,” she praised him and Steve allowed himself relax a little and perhaps feel a bit proud. Both for himself and for his daughter. “Thank you, dad. I love you. I… you know I just want you to be happy, right?"

"I know, babygirl,” he admitted with a sigh. “But pushing me won’t help. Thank you for the rescue on the other hand, that I needed."

"Anytime.”

Steve couldn’t but wonder at her reassurance. He knew she meant it. He felt their relationship shifting gradually, from father-daughter to more partnership-like one. She had been displaying care for him since her early years, probably picking up on the concern in everyone else’s eyes and soon figured out it was for him.

For Steve, she would always be his little girl, his instinct to protect her stronger than anything, but he couldn’t stop her from being protective over him as well. He wasn’t able to and he wouldn’t want it, trying to indulge the feeling of being cared for instead – at least within boundaries.

“Anytime,” he echoed, squeezing her side before spinning her. He was rewarded by her delighted laugh.

Before the night was over, Steve learned – thanks to Bucky's and Natasha’s plotting – that the blue dress brunette's name was Amelia. He danced one more time that night, because she shyly asked and he found himself unable to say no to the hopeful eyes. For now, she was an Amelia and a potential friend. One day, she might become more.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, it was as sweet to read as to write ;) 
> 
> Brace yourself, epilogue is coming ;) You have a week for that I guess, ‘cause I’m leaving for work slash school slash fun slash whatever and I have no idea if I’ll have even a reception, let alone be able to post. Sorry to leave you hanging O:-)


	13. Goodbye (I’ll see you soon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. Last chapter/epilogue is here - 13 is a lucky number after all. What a ride.

To say that the others were taken aback by your plan would be an understatement. It ignited a whole new heated discussion, full of disgusted yelling and accusations.

“You’re okay with this?!” Bucky cried out, furious glare piercing Steve and you couldn’t but shield your man protectively as he winced at his friend’s rage, his eyes falling shut as if he had learned the devastating news about your destiny for the first time.

“Bucky, don’t,” you warned him. “You know he’s everything but _okay_ with this. But he knows what needs to be done.”

“Really? I think he can speak for himself! Come on, punk! You’re seriously just giving up? On _her?!_ Are you out of your mind?”

“Alright, I think that’s enough,” Sam said lowly, reaching for Bucky’s arm.

Incredulous glare was the response he received. “Since when you’re on their side?!”

“Barnes, look-“

“We’re all gonna have her blood on our hands! We might as well just kill her right now!”

“ENOUGH!” your voice cut him off, the room falling into stunned silence. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you. “We’re doing this. Wanda figures out a way to erase our memories. Grace comes back to the future. End of story.”

“This is a mistake. This is a fucking mistake-“

You closed your eyes with a sigh as the supersoldier exited the room, swearing in Russian.

“Can we all agree that we hate this solution, but it needs to be done?” you asked in a whisper.

Various forms of agreement came from all remaining people in the room; including Natasha’s glare and Wanda’s most hesitant nod. To be honest, you weren’t able to look at Steve. You had taken the initiative, seemingly strong, but you knew one glance at your to-be-husband and you would lose it. You would crumble like a house of cards, becoming a sobbing mess; possibly on the floor, because Steve wouldn’t have the energy to catch you this time, so unlike he always did.

“Okay.”

\---

The deal was that Grace would return back to her time in the morning, which left you one last night to spend with your daughter. The silence between you, Steve and her was deafening though. The aura of desperation was weighting all of you, dragging you under water.

In the end, Grace just offered you and Steve went to bed, to spend your time together – and she had tears in her eyes when saying so. She was very perceptive; she could tell Steve was still trying to wrap his head around the time-travelling thing and, more importantly, the daughter thing. You could tell Steve was trying his best, but you knew he couldn’t but hate Grace for bringing the gloomy news about your early passing.

For the longest time, you were just lying together in bed, staring to the ceiling. Steve’s arm was pulling you to his form tighter than usual and you could hear the wheels in his head turning furiously. The tension in his muscles was so powerful and radiant that you would be able to tell even without being pressed to his side, his pulse so fast and loud you would have heard it even without having your head resting on his chest.

Neither of you spoke. You just were.

When you heard him inhale shakily, you knew what he was going to say.

“Bucky’s wrong,” you spoke up before he could, immediately feeling his fingers in your hair flex, knowing you hit the nail on the head. “You’re not giving up. You’re being brave-“

 _“Brave?_ Is that how you call it? Being brave now means giving up? Jesus. There-- Snowflake, there has to be a way and we should be looking for it.“

You shifted in his embrace, his arm tightening on instinct as if he was afraid you were about to leave. But you simply looked up at his face – he didn’t reciprocate the gesture. You gently cupped his jaw to force him.

“Steve, love, look at me. You’re doing- no, _we are_ doing the right thing. We’ll be okay-“ He sucked in a breath sharply and you knew he wanted to protest. To be fair, your choice of words was terrible, so you couldn’t exactly blame him. “We will still have time together. Bucky would have understood eventually if he got the opportunity. But he won’t. None of us will, because we won’t remember.”

He opened his mouth, no sound coming out. There were tears in his eyes, just one slipping out. You caught it with your lips.

“You never called me that,” he whispered. You frowned. Never called him…? _“Love.”_

You blinked, realizing he was right. “Oh. That’s a shame. Or do you not like it?”

That charmed a watery smile on his lips, his fingers gently tracing your face. It left no doubt it was the other way around, but he said it for your benefit.

“I do.”

You kissed him then. What else could you do? How else could you tell him how much you loved him and hated everything that was happening now? The kiss was warm, tender and yet needy, salty with your tears. His hand slid further into your hair, drawing you close, his lips growing firmer against yours, opening your mouth as if he needed you to breathe.  You didn’t fight it.

You needed him too.

You let him roll you over, his elbows caging your frame, trapping you between his body and the mattress, gentle warmth pooling in your belly. You held his gaze when he retreated in favour to catch his breath, his eyes seemingly shining even in the dark of the room. You let yourself drown in them.

 _“Love,”_ you whispered barely audible, his expression softening despite you not thinking it was possible.

No more words were spoken. The language of love reigned tonight.

The little sleep you got was restless.

\---

“So… remind me how do you get back to your time?” Clint frowned, watching Grace with a bit of disbelief.

“This device… it powers my speed, making me even faster. Fast enough to… run back and forth in time,” she explained slowly as she touched her chest, small shiny thing attached to her torso appearing. “The only thing I need is to turn it on and… run.”

You all just managed to stare, except Sam, who voiced what everyone (well, probably everyone beside Bruce and Tony aka the really tech-smart people in the room) thought.

“Say what?” he asked, earning an innocent smile from the speedster.

“Ignore him. Tell me how did we miss this? We scanned you head to toe,” Tony complained, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Well, you invented it, Uncle Tony. Your future-self made sure you had no tech to detect it in the moment in the past I was travelling to.”

That sentence gave the genius a pause, before he smirked. “…damn, I’m one smart bastard.”

“You sure will be.”

The tiny joke lightened up the mood only so much. Grace cleared her throat awkwardly, tears pooling in her eyes.

“Okay, everyone. I… I see you in the future.”

She turned to you then, avoiding Steve’s gaze as if she felt guilty, biting her trembling lip. You tried your best to make the corners of your lips rise a little, attempting a reassuring smile. You weren’t surprised when she jumped you, wrapping her arms around you in an embrace so strong she would make her supersoldier dad proud. She sobbed to your shoulder and you squeezed your eyes shut, running a soothing hand down her back.

“Be safe,” you hummed, feeling her grip growing even firmer.

“I will, mom.”

You chuckled at the addressing, except it came out like a sob.

“You better. I’ll be watching you. Always.” When she let go abruptly, as if she had to release you fast if she was about to do it _ever_ , you patted her necklace with your fingertips. “Always watching. Always with you.”

“I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, Grace.”

With the last look around the room, she took a deep breath.

“Dad,” she whispered, but before Steve could react, she was gone with a hush of wind.

The strangest feeling washed over you, the room falling into ominous silence. You didn’t need to look at Steve to know he was utterly shocked. You were too. But there was no need to leave him like that, to let him make sense of it. He wouldn’t remember that anyway.

“Okay. Let’s figure out how exactly to wipe out one’s memory, shall we?” you offered, your voice strangled despite the attempted jovial tone. “And self-erase memories. If that’s even possible…”

“I guess we’re about to find out,“ Wanda muttered darkly and no one dared to say another word.

You never caught the glance she exchanged with your fiancé.

\---

Grace stopped abruptly as she knew this was the right moment to return to. She opened her eyes with a furious inhale, swaying when her head spun and she couldn’t pinpoint her core.

A small hand caught her in a firm grip and she met with mildly concerned expression of her aunt Wanda. Another hand supported her from the back.

“Whoa, easy there, Short Stuff,” uncle Tony’s voice called out and she leaned into the touch, her world getting a bit steadier.

She casted a glance all over the room, only for her head starting to spin once more for a very different reason. All of the ‘adults’ were in the room – Nat, Bruce, Tony, Wanda, Vision, Clint, Sam, Bucky, dad and-

Grace gasped, tears appearing in her eyes. She would have think her time-travel device failed, but she was lucid enough to see that your face looked older than she remembered – remembered from the photos, from her trip, from—

-from when you kissed her on her forehead at her first school day, when you cooled her twisted ankle as she was not careful enough while running down the stairs despite your scolding, from when she managed to run a mile in four seconds, from when you rubbed her back when Drake kissed Marci on her cheek just a day after he had kissed hers in the third grade, your disapproving yet moved face as you held her hand at the tattoo parlor as a little snowflake and a little star was drawn on her skin above her collarbone-

And so, so much more, many pictures flooding her mind, _memories_ , new ones, from— from a different lifetime. From a different timeline.

She had changed the past. Somehow, she must have changed the past and the present followed, because-

“Grace? Sweetheart? Are you okay?” you whispered as you placed a gentle hand on her arm and Grace tried her best to focus her gaze, but she fucking couldn’t, because you were standing right here, swimming in the tears of her eyes and-

“Mom!” she squeaked, jumping around your neck, which made you swing, your breath knocked out of you.

Grace didn’t care. She squeezed you tight, the feeling so foreign and _so familiar_ as she had done it over years, yet she learned that only about a minute ago.

“Oh darling, what did you see? Where did it throw you? I _told you_ it would go wrong,” you hissed over her shoulder and Grace suddenly remembered that this was her birthday present. She had wanted to see you and dad younger, your first meeting and you two being cute when trying to figure out your feelings, then your wedding- “What was it? Was someone hurt? Oh, don’t cry.”

Grace was breathing heavily as all the information was still settling down.

“Y-yeah,” she stuttered, still incredulous that she somehow managed to prevent your death. You were here. Her mum was _here_. _Alive_. “But… but everyone’s okay now, right? We are all okay.”

You caressed her back as she felt another body enwrapping you both firmly, a kiss landing on her head only few seconds after – after you, because you were always kissed first in the group hug, before Grace, and only then Jamie.

 _Always._ The thought made Grace laugh like a mad woman, more tears sprouting from her eyes.

And then another body crashed the moment, making Grace’s dad huff and her mum to silently murmur a curse acceptable for fourteen-year ears of Grace’s brother Jamie, who was _supposed to_ be asleep, but probably was playing with mixing temperatures in his room, cold on his left hand and warm on his right, and seriously, one day he would just cause a freaking storm with that, Grace was sure of it (as much as uncle Tony). She just couldn’t wait. On a second thought, being crushed by the kid with super-strength did enough damage as well.

God, she loved him just like the rest of her insane family.

She melted into the group hug, breathing in the indescribable feeling. “I love you, mom. I love all of you so much.”

“And we love you, Gracie,” you reassured her, caressing her back as much as you could in the limited space. “Because we’re family.”

\---

_Thousands of miles away, hell, even out of space and time, a hand caressed a necklace with a delicate snowflake on it. Once property of Grace Rogers- well, not exactly, because in fact, she had never received the gift, because her mother had never died. The man holding the necklace shifted in his seat, his gaze on the delicate lines of the jewellery._

_He knew this was dangerous. Incredibly so, he had seen the consequences of manipulating time up-close, but just like his guru, he couldn’t help but intervene. It hadn’t been the feeling of power that forced his hand, no – it was his heart breaking at the sight of all your loved ones. Grace especially._

_He knew he played a dangerous game, but he hoped the universe could forgive him. He had done the right thing, saving a life; and he had done it without selfish intentions._

_Only one person and one super-bot knew about his actions; the Scarlet Witch, who hadn’t erased her own and her lover’s memories upon Captain’s request and plea, planning on seeking his help. She had let him see all she had read in young Ms. Rogers’ mind; needless to say, the daughter had a fair share of nightmares that allowed the Scarlet Witch break her mental defence and luckily for her, she also had a very impressive memory, her guilt driven mind able to learn every piece of medical records by heart and was able to pinpoint the exact moment things had gone wrong for her mother._

_When the newer Avengers’ recruits approached him with all the information they had had, he could have said no, his office even telling him so._

_He hadn’t. With just a little help and the Avengers successfully having an idea to deliver you to Wakanda to monitor your pregnancy by the most advanced medical practitioners known to Earth, they had saved your life when it hung on a thread._

_And so far – precisely for eighteen years, that long it had been since his interference –, it felt like the right thing do, the universe not punishing one single soul._

_Stephen Strange smiled and waved the floating picture of a happy family reunion away, delicately placing the necklace into a velvet box, savouring a simple note inside._

_‘Thank you.’_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! Liked it? Or not? Are you happy with the happy end? (Yeah, it kinda means the flashforwards technically never happened, which is a shame, but hey, time-travelling is confusing and to have one nice thing, you might give up another – also, damn you, some_fiction, of course you thought of that :D). 
> 
> I’ll be delighted if you let me know what was happening in the head of yours when reading :)) 
> 
> I admit I was not expecting this series to turn out this long when I started it. I mean, maybe not a one-shot, but not over 100k words either. Oops.  
> So thank you if you read it all and especially big thanks for leaving kudos/comments, they always mean a world to me ♥


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